07. April 2021

PPA6 First Steel Cutting Ceremony

The first Steel Cutting ceremony for 6th Multipurpose Patrol Ship (PPA) took place on 07 April 2021 at Fincantieri’s integrated shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia).

Poster of the PPA6 First Steel Cutting Ceremony ©OCCAR

The ceremony was held in compliance with Covid-19 regulations.

During the ceremony, Mr. Pasquale de Candia, OCCAR PPA Programme Manager, pressed the start button of the laser cutter together with FINCANTIERI Engineers Luca Maggiolo and Stefano Saione

From the left: Eng Luca Maggiolo (Fincantieri), Mr Pasquale de Candia (OCCAR PPA Programme Manager), Eng. Stefano Saione (Fincantieri) press the steel laser cutter start button ©OCCAR

PPA Class will consist of seven ships and will be made up of three different configurations, depending on the Combat System complexity:

LIGHT” with a complete set of artillery,
“LIGHT PLUS” which adds missile firing capability with actuators planned also for ballistic missile defence, and
“FULL”, equipped to cope with three-dimensional threats (air, surface and underwater).

PPA6 will be the 3rd ship of the Class in “LIGHT PLUS” configuration.

The LIGHT PLUS version, as well as the “LIGHT”, has been developed with the “fitted for” approach; FULL version SubSystems can quickly be deployed also on LIGHT and LIGHT PLUS, facilitating operational flexibility and growing capability during the vessel’s life.

PPA6 First Steel Cutting is an important Programme Milestone and took place four months in advance of the contract schedule.

The ship is planned to be launched during summer 2023 and delivered to the Italian Navy two years later, in 2025

To know more about the programme, please visit our website.