Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has held a keel-laying ceremony for the Italian Navy’s first U212NFS submarine.
The ceremony took place on February 27, 2026, at the Muggiano shipyard. The project is part of the program for the construction of four submarines and the development of related logistic support, managed and entrusted to OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement, an international organization for the management of cooperative defense programs).
The U212NFS submarine class represents a substantial evolution compared to its U212A predecessors, thanks to greater design maturity, a higher level of national technological content, and improved integration of onboard systems.
According to Fincantieri, the innovations include the lithium-ion propulsion battery and the new combat system.
The program responds to the need to secure adequate underwater spatial surveillance and control capacity, considering the future complex scenarios of underwater operations and the fact that the end of the operational lifetime of the four Sauro-class submarines currently in service is drawing near.
Delivery of the first U212NFS is scheduled for 2029.
“The U212NFS program makes a decisive contribution to preserving and enhancing national industrial know-how, consolidating the technological advantage of Fincantieri and the entire Italian supply chain – thanks to the increased development of components within the country, reinforcing its strategic role and in particular that of the Muggiano shipyard, which—with over a century of activity and more than one hundred submarines built—represents a historic benchmark for the construction of the national underwater component,” Fincantieri noted.