OCCAR has awarded Orizzonte Sistemi Navali a €3.7 billion contract to develop, produce and support two Italian Navy DDX destroyers, with delivery targeted for 2033 and 2035, according to a company announcement.
Fincantieri press release
Genoa/Trieste/Rome, 24 September 2026 – Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN), the Fincantieri (51 percent) and Leonardo (49 percent) joint venture, signed with OCCAR a contract valued at about €3.7 billion, including roughly €1.3 billion in options, covering development, production, logistics studies and Initial In Service Support for two next-generation DDX destroyers for the Italian Navy.
OSN will finalize sub-supply agreements in the coming weeks with Fincantieri and Leonardo worth approximately €1.8 billion, including about €800 million in options, and approximately €1.7 billion, including about €480 million in options, respectively.
The signing launches a major program intended to shape Italy’s future maritime defense, introducing a new class designed for increasingly complex operational environments, rapid technological change and deeper integration across domains.
The DDX program will deliver a step change in Italian air and missile defense. Fincantieri will act as platform system integrator, advancing digitalization across the ship, while Leonardo will design and develop the combat system.
The ships will operate within highly networked multinational task groups and will feature extensive digitalization, automation and integration across sensors, weapons, multi-domain command-and-control and platform management. The combat system architecture will be built for interoperability, information sharing and robust data management.
Planned platform innovations include a DC power sub-network with energy storage, a stabilization system integrated with steering, new approaches to thermal and electrical balance calculations, and further digital enhancements to the Ship Management System.
On the combat system side, the new-generation SADOC 5 C5I, a high-power fully digital S-band AESA radar and MBDA’s weapon system will underpin an Integrated Air and Missile Defence capability against missile, ballistic and hypersonic threats. The system is designed to ensure full multi-domain interoperability consistent with Leonardo’s Michelangelo technology initiative.
The two units will be built by Fincantieri and Leonardo through OSN, leveraging decades of expertise in advanced naval construction. Deliveries are planned for 2033 and 2035.
Pierroberto Folgiero, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Fincantieri, said:
“The DDX programme represents a strategic milestone for Fincantieri and for Italy’s national defence industry. It is one of the most significant naval programmes launched in Italy in recent years and confirms Fincantieri’s role as an industrial and technological reference point in the design and integration of complex naval systems. With DDX, we are further strengthening our leadership in the naval defence sector and investing in the development of expertise, technologies and the supply chain, helping to consolidate Italy’s industrial and technological sovereignty and the country’s competitiveness in the European naval defence sector.”
Lorenzo Mariani, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Leonardo, said:
“Taking part in this programme – which is set to establish new standards in naval defence capabilities confirms the Italian Navy’s confidence in Leonardo’s technologies, which are capable of meeting the need to operate in an integrated manner across different domains and in complex scenarios. Today more than ever, it is essential to rely on multi-domain systems. Leonardo’s continuous investments in this direction have enabled the development of digital and system architectures that integrate capabilities designed to ensure effective assessment of scenarios and speed in decision-making processes throughout the entire chain of command. With these two new-generation units, the Armed Force will be able to rely on naval platforms offering advanced operational performance and capable of addressing a broad spectrum of threats. The important result achieved with the signing of this contract is also further evidence of how Italy’s national defence industry, represented in this case by Leonardo and Fincantieri, can, by working in synergy, deliver innovative and strategic expertise, helping us move towards greater technological autonomy and contributing to the growth of Italy and Europe.”
Giovanni Sorrentino, Chief Executive Officer of Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, said:
“With the DDX programme, Italy is making a generational leap in its maritime defence capabilities and strengthening a strategic asset that involves the entire national system. This programme represents much more than the construction of two new naval units: it is the result of an extraordinary synergy among Italy’s industrial excellence, the Defence sector – and in particular the Italian Navy and the international procurement agency OCCAR, bringing together innovation, expertise and strategic vision. Today’s signing marks the launch of a programme of major importance for the entire Defence sector, capable of generating significant industrial and technological benefits for the national supply chain, consolidating expertise, skilled employment and innovative capabilities that represent a strategic asset for the country’s future.”
Italian Navy DDX destroyers: platform and combat systems
The new ships will succeed the Horizon-class destroyers. The DDX platform will measure 180 meters, displace 13,500 tonnes, offer a range of 4,000 nautical miles and carry a complement of 251.
The design combines advances in naval engineering, digital technologies and electronics to deliver significant defense and deterrence capacity, and to connect surface operations with the undersea domain.
Fincantieri’s Navis Sapiens concept will underpin the ship’s “thinking” digital architecture. The system is intended to collect and correlate data across all onboard systems, turning it into actionable information for operations, technical management and lifecycle support.
The open, scalable design is meant to accommodate new functions and emerging technologies to mitigate obsolescence.
Connectivity to shore will feed a broader Fincantieri Digital Ecosystem for the Italian Navy, linking the Digital Ship with the Digital Naval Base.
The approach aims to enable predictive maintenance, digital logistics support and rapid delivery of mission data onboard under secure conditions. The expected benefits include improved readiness, higher availability, faster supply chain response, quicker crew rotations, more efficient problem resolution and cross-domain interoperability.
At 15 knots, an innovative digital backbone developed by Fincantieri will allow each ship to manage unmanned underwater and surface systems in an integrated way.
This is designed to enhance detection and protection against aerial, including ballistic, as well as surface and subsurface threats. The backbone also seeks to optimize propulsion and electrical consumption while providing advanced connectivity.
The program is intended to ensure the Italian Navy maintains the capabilities required for future missions and can operate as a leading participant in national and multinational maritime operations.
It will also reinforce Italy’s industrial base by advancing skills, technologies and strategic capabilities across the national supply chain.
For Fincantieri and Leonardo, their respective OSN sub-supply agreements are related-party transactions of greater significance.
The companies said the deals comply with applicable rules and benefit from the procedural exemption for transactions with subsidiaries, including jointly controlled subsidiaries, under relevant regulations and company procedures.
The DDX programme represents a strategic milestone for Fincantieri and for Italy’s national defence industry in the same way that major undersea projects such as the USS Baltimore seabed warfare upgrade are reshaping future naval capabilities elsewhere.