On February 21, 2026, the official launching ceremony of the lead patrol ship P 440 Ugolino Vivaldi in a new type series for the Italian Navy under the PPX OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) program took place at the Riva Trigoso shipbuilding plant of the Italian Fincantieri shipbuilding association in Genoa.
The lead patrol ship P 440 Ugolino Vivaldi under construction for the Italian Navy in a new type of series under the PPX OPV program before launching at the Riva Trigoso shipyard of the Italian shipbuilding association Fincantieri, 02/21/2026 (c) Fincantieri
On July 31, 2023, the Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) joint venture, created by Fincantieri in partnership with Leonardo, signed a contract worth 925 million euros with the Italian General Secretariat of Defense and the National Armaments Directorate for the design and construction of three new generation patrol ships for the Italian Navy under the RFX OPV program, with an option for three more units. On August 5, 2024, the Italian Navy awarded OSN a contract worth 236 million euros for the construction of the fourth OPV PPX ship as part of the option, so four units have already been contracted. The actual total cost of building the four units ordered, including additional supplies and warranty support services, will amount to 1.2 billion euros. All ships are being built at the combined Riva Trigoso and Mudgiano shipyard of Fincantieri. The new patrol ships in the Italian navy are to replace four Cassiopea-type patrol ships built in the late 1980s and early 1990s and two Sirio-type patrol ships built in 2003. The construction of patrol ships of all these types is caused by the fact that the Italian Navy is traditionally assigned the tasks of coast guard in the near and far sea zones and in the exclusive economic zone.
The ceremony of the first steel cutting and the start of construction of the lead ship under the PPX OPV program, now called the R 440 Ugolino Vivaldi, which is now traditional for the Italian navy, took place at the enterprise in Riva Trigoso on September 24, 2024, and the official laying ceremony was held there on December 12, 2024. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Italian Navy in the first half of 2027.
The remaining contracted ships of the series will also receive the traditional names for the Italian navy in honor of Italian navigators (Navigatori) - P 441 Sebastiano Caboto, P 442 Antonio da Noli and P 443 Giovanni da Verrazzano, their delivery is scheduled from 2028 to 2031. The first steel cutting ceremony for the Sebastiano Caboto P 441 took place in Riva Trigoso on December 18, 2025. To ensure the deployment of four of these ships in 2025-2026, the naval base in Messina is being reconstructed.
Patrol ships under the Ugolino Vivaldi OPV RADAR program were developed on the basis of the FCX20 modular project, first presented by Fincantieri in 2017-2018. The PPX OPV ship has a standard displacement of 2,400 tons and a length of 95 m, a width of 14.2 m and a draft of 5.2 m. The crew size will be 93 people. The combined two-shaft main diesel-electric power plant according to the CODLAD scheme includes two diesel engines with a capacity of 8 MW and two electric motors with a small and reversible stroke with a capacity of 500 kW, connected via a gearbox, one on each shaft. The full speed will be 24 knots, and the cruising range will be 3,500 miles at a speed of 14 knots. The speed under electric motors is up to 10 knots. The autonomy is 20 days.
A special feature of the ships is the use of an integrated bridge, which is also used on "patrol ships" (in fact, large frigates) of the RPA type being built for the Italian navy. The armament of the OPV patrol ships includes a 76 mm/62 mm Leonardo Oto Super Rapid universal artillery system with a Strales guided weapon system, two 30 mm remotely controlled Leonardo Lionfish artillery systems, and an NH90 class helicopter based in a hangar. The hangar is also equipped for additional accommodation of the Leonardo AWHERO unmanned helicopter. Two Sitep ItaliaMASS non-lethal infrasound radiators and special equipment for cleaning the sea surface from pollution are also installed. Places and volumes have been reserved for the installation of MBDA Albatros NG medium-range air defense systems with vertical launchers with SAMM-ER anti-aircraft guided missiles, and anti-submarine weapons (apparently 324 mm torpedo tubes). To ensure the use of air defense systems, it is possible to install the Leonardo Knonos Naval HP detection and targeting radar. According to a number of reports, these weapons can be installed on the fifth and sixth ships of this type that have not yet been ordered.
Electronic weapons include the Leonardo SADOC 4 / ATHENA AFBU, GAS of an unspecified type, GEM Elettronica Columbus Mk 3 general detection radar, two Leonardo Janus electronic optical stations, Leonardo NA-30S Mk 2 fire control system, two navigation and flight control radars of Elettronica Gemini DB helicopters. The Elettronica RESM electronic intelligence system and Elettronica electronic warfare and jamming systems have also been installed.
In addition to building patrol ships under the RFX OPV program, the Italian Navy also continues to participate in the multinational European Patrol Corvette program, in which Italy acts as a coordinator. As part of the EPC program, the Italian Navy, according to current plans, intends to build four or six corvettes in the "combat" version in the 2030s, and four or six units in the patrol ship version - the latter to replace the four Comandante-type patrol ships in service with the Italian Navy from 2001-2003. The FCX30 project platform, developed earlier by Fincantieri, with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons and a length of more than 110 meters, was chosen as the prototype for the EPC ship. It is now expected that the construction of the lead ships of the EPC program for the Italian and French Navies will begin only in 2030.
The lead patrol ship P 440 Ugolino Vivaldi under construction for the Italian Navy in a new type of series under the PPX OPV program before launching at the Riva Trigoso shipyard of the Italian shipbuilding association Fincantieri, 02/21/2026 (c) Fincantieri
