Technological base, strategic autonomy, Italian Underwater Center. These are the key points discussed today by the CEO of the Fincantieri Group, Pierroberto Folgiero, in the hearing at the Italian Defense commission of the Chamber of Deputies. A functional appointment for the examination of the multi-annual programmatic document for defense for the three-year period 2023-2025.

"The National Underwater Center will be inaugurated on 12 December 2023. It will have its base in San Bartolomeo a Mare, in Liguria. It will be an institutional container of subjects active in the sector, managed by the Italian Navy. Fincantieri is applying as leader of the supply chain, thanks to its ability in submarines and more generally in the sector", announced Folgiero. The manager then explained that it is a new domain "that must be defended and designed" as a "growth curve of the product and companies" that operate in electrical and communications cable ducts, underwater mining, management of critical infrastructures, drones submarines".

Fincantieri's CEO then illustrated the Group's numbers: "We work with 5,700 small and medium-sized enterprises who are our suppliers. As supply chain leader, we support them in terms of cyber, financial (access to capital) and sustainability. We have spent 168 million euros in research and development in the naval sector. We make 80% of purchases in Italy, with a total expenditure of 3.1 billion, of which 600 million for military production, with maximum impact on the national territory. In fact, we have eight construction sites from North to South: a model that distributes work throughout Italy, with 62,000 related workers included".

Finally, Folgiero reiterated the company's vision: "Financial stability is functional to the solidity of the shipyards. This requires growth in spending in the defense sector, which is rewarding. Fincantieri, working in the civil and military sectors, in fact creates a virtuous circuit of innovation that gives us a critical mass that makes us the first shipbuilding industry in the world. We are currently focusing on the National Underwater Center, on the development of the U-212 IV submarine, on the Fremm Evo frigates".

Aims to be achieved with a "geopolitical approach to the markets" and by revitalizing the "Orizzonte systems navali" joint venture, in which the Leonardo Group makes its capabilities available in the combat sector and Fincantieri its know-how in the platform, command and check. A collaboration that aims to create cyber-secure, digital and interoperable ships -already appreciated all over the world today- which are increasingly attractive from an export perspective.