The First Steel Cutting ceremony for the Fifth Multipurpose Patrol Ship (PPA) took place on the 25th June at Riva Trigoso Shipyard (Genova). 
The steel cutting ceremony is a very meaningful milestone, as it marks the first tangible step of the building process and constitutes the virtual birth of a new ship.

The OCCAR-EA Director has signed today the FREMM Research & Technology Projects Contract with NAVIRIS, a 50% joint venture by Fincantieri and Naval Group, officially launched in January 2020 with the aim to strengthen the French – Italian cooperation for the shipbuilding industry and Navies as an evolution of an historical partnership .

On 29 May, the French Minister of Defense, Mme Florence Parly, was presented the progress of the Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme in Brest, France.

The launching ceremony of the second PPA was held on the 22nd May 2020 at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Riva Trigoso – Genova. The ship has been named after Francesco Morosini, 108th Doge of the Serenissima Republic of Venice and General Sea Captain of the Venetian Fleet (1688 – 1694).