Italy as a weapons design powerhouse — Part 1
1. According to an Oct 2020 CSIS brief on Europe between 2007 and 2019, Italy experienced twenty quarters of recession (42% of the time). The Italian defense budget:
2. While personnel costs represent more than 70% of the Italian defense budget (compared to 40% in the UK or 50% in France and Germany), most of the prior budget cuts were to military investments. Despite the above, Italy has the ambition to build its own NFHs, LUHs, PPAs, submarines, and collaborate to build up its capability to dominate in the electromagnetic spectrum. Thanks to Italian domestic ship building capability, Fincantieri has been able to win 4 billion Euro of orders for naval vessels by Qatar, including four corvettes, an amphibious ship and two patrol boats being built in its La Spezia shipyard until 2024.
3. Italy managed to maintain a high level of investment in some strategic sectors — including current plans:
The NFS will be a direct development of the Type-212A. Although the baseline Type-212A is largely a German design, Italy was a partner in the program. In a cost-conscious defense collaboration typical of the post-Cold War ’90s, Germany was to build six boats and Italy four. Italy’s were built locally by Fincantieri and incorporate some local systems. In particular they are armed with the Italian Whitehead A184 Mod.3 and newer Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes. And they carry an array of unique special forces equipment.
1. According to an Oct 2020 CSIS brief on Europe between 2007 and 2019, Italy experienced twenty quarters of recession (42% of the time). The Italian defense budget:
(a) steadily fell from 1.3% of GDP in 2011 to 1.1% in 2017. In 2019, it rebounded to €21.4 billion ($24.5 billion), or 1.22% of GDP; but
(b) rose by 9.6% in 2020 to €15.3 billion (US$18.1 billion), with the procurement budget emerging as the big winner as it rose by 26% from 2019 if coupled with top-up spending from the industry ministry
2. While personnel costs represent more than 70% of the Italian defense budget (compared to 40% in the UK or 50% in France and Germany), most of the prior budget cuts were to military investments. Despite the above, Italy has the ambition to build its own NFHs, LUHs, PPAs, submarines, and collaborate to build up its capability to dominate in the electromagnetic spectrum. Thanks to Italian domestic ship building capability, Fincantieri has been able to win 4 billion Euro of orders for naval vessels by Qatar, including four corvettes, an amphibious ship and two patrol boats being built in its La Spezia shipyard until 2024.
3. Italy managed to maintain a high level of investment in some strategic sectors — including current plans:
(a) of the Italian Ministry of Defence (Italian MoD) to work with its Austrian counterpart on a bilateral co-operation programme on the future procurement of military rotorcraft by the Bundesheer to select the Italian-built Leonardo AW169M light utility helicopter (LUH);
(b) to launch with France, the Sicral-2 / Syracuse 3C military satellite. This is a joint Italian-French programme based on a geostationary satellite operating in the UHF and SHF bands. It will enhance the “milsatcom” capabilities already offered by Italy’s Sicral 1 and Sicral 1B satellites, and France’s Syracuse-3 System;
(c) to deliver on 22 Dec 2020, the 1st two M-345 High Efficiency Trainers to the Italian Air Force (which has a requirement for up to 45 aircraft to replace the MB-339s);
(d) to induct 7 Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura (PPA) class multi-role vessels by 2026; and
(e) to build the Near Future Submarine (NFS). Currently the backbone of Italian Navy’s (Marina Militare) submarine force are four Type-212A submarines. These are equipped with fuel cell Air Independent Power (AIP), which makes them among the most stealthy submarines anywhere. But the Type-212A is best known as a German design, not Italian. In many respects the NFS is a return to the proud tradition of fiercely independent Italian submarine building.
The NFS will be a direct development of the Type-212A. Although the baseline Type-212A is largely a German design, Italy was a partner in the program. In a cost-conscious defense collaboration typical of the post-Cold War ’90s, Germany was to build six boats and Italy four. Italy’s were built locally by Fincantieri and incorporate some local systems. In particular they are armed with the Italian Whitehead A184 Mod.3 and newer Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes. And they carry an array of unique special forces equipment.
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