Fincantieri jockeying for position in US naval shipbuilding revamp

ROME — The CEO of shipbuilder Fincantieri has claimed the Italian state- controlled yard can be a catalyst in President Donald Trump’s shake-up of U.S. naval shipbuilding.

Pierroberto Folgiero said Fincantieri could “enable and support a kind of renaissance of shipbuilding in the U.S.”

Speaking to analysts on Monday, the Italian manager added that Trump’s executive order issued last month to boost the U.S. shipbuilding business would help Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine yard in Wisconsin where it is building new - but delayed - Constellation class frigates.

The order will “debottleneck the performance of the existing defense shipyards in the US, including ours in Marinette,” he said.

On April 9, Trump signed an executive order to revitalize an industry accused of lagging behind China’s following reports that recent naval programs have experienced delays and cost overruns.

A March report by the United States Government Accountability Office pinned blame on the U.S. Navy , stating “the Navy’s shipbuilding acquisition approach does not align with innovative practices that promote timely, predictable development and delivery of new, fully capable ships.”

The report recalled how the Navy contracted Fincantieri to build Constellation-class frigates in 2020 during the first Trump administration. The vessel was based on the Fremm frigates the yard had built for the Italian Navy, and the U.S. Navy reported “basic andfunctional designs” were 88% complete.

Five years on, after changes were ordered to the design, the Navy is now reporting the design is just 70 percent complete and the program is three years behind, the report said.

“As a result of these changes, in part, the frigate now bears little resemblance to the parent design that the Navy touted as a built-in, risk reduction measure for the program in 2020,” the report stated.

“Now, in 2025, the ongoing redesign has driven weight growth at levels that exceed available tolerances. Already the Navy is considering a reduction in the frigate’s speed requirement as one potential way, among others, to resolve this weight growth.”

In a January interview with U.S. conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump blamed the Navy for “playing around and tinkering and changing the design.”

He claimed the frigate was “designed on a ship that was unbelievably successful in that same class, you know, design-wise.”

“We had it down, and they made changes. They always have to make changes. You know, these guys get in there, and they think they’re smart, and in many cases, unfortunately, they’re not smart, and they take something and they make it worse for a lot more money. That’s what they do. I mean, they spend more money to make it worse,” he said.

Addressing analysts on Monday, Fincantieri CEO Folgiero said he hoped naval technology cooperation between the United States and Italy could play a part in an upgrade of the American naval shipbuilding industry.

He pointed to a U.S.-Italy Joint Leaders’ Statement published after an April visit to Washington by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni which stated, “Italy will contribute to the maritime renaissance of the U.S. shipbuilding sector.”

He said he hoped another Fincantieri owned yard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, could now increase its capacity and focus on icebreakers.

“There is huge attention on the new Arctic routes, which are increasingly important for the administration. A good example of technology-driven shipbuilding is icebreakers,” he said, adding that Fincantieri could leverage its existing expertise on the vessel type.

He also said Fincantieri could create a repair and maintenance hub for Constellation frigates at its facility in Jacksonville, Florida.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利造船企业芬坎蒂尼的首席执行官声称，这家意大利国有造船厂可以成为唐纳德·特朗普总统改革美国海军造船业的催化剂。

皮埃罗贝托·福尔杰罗表示，芬坎蒂尼集团可以“促成并支持美国造船业的复兴”。

这位意大利经理周一在与分析师交谈时补充说，特朗普上个月发布的旨在提振美国造船业的行政命令将有助于芬坎蒂尼集团位于威斯康星州的马里内特海事船厂，该船厂正在建造新的（但已延期的）星座级护卫舰。

他说，这项订单将“缓解美国现有国防造船厂（包括我们在马里内特的造船厂）的性能瓶颈”。

4月9日，特朗普签署了一项行政命令，旨在振兴一个被指责落后于中国的行业。此前有报道称，最近的海军项目出现了延误和成本超支。

美国政府问责局三月份的一份报告将责任归咎于美国海军，报告指出“海军的造船采购方式与促进及时、可预测地开发和交付新型、功能齐全的舰艇的创新做法不符”。

报告回顾了美国海军在特朗普第一任期内（2020年）与芬坎蒂尼造船厂签订合同，建造星座级护卫舰的情况。该舰以芬坎蒂尼造船厂此前为意大利海军建造的弗雷姆级护卫舰为基础，美国海军报告称，“基本功能设计”已完成88%。

报告称，五年过去了，在设计方案被要求修改之后，海军现在报告说，该设计方案只完成了 70%，而且该项目已经落后了三年。

报告指出：“由于这些变化，这艘护卫舰现在与海军在 2020 年吹捧为该项目内置风险降低措施的母设计几乎没有相似之处。”

“如今到了2025年，持续进行的重新设计导致舰艇重量增长超过了允许的公差范围。海军已经在考虑降低护卫舰的航速要求，作为解决重量增长问题的潜在方法之一。”

1 月份，特朗普在接受美国保守派电台主持人休·休伊特的采访时，指责海军“胡乱摆弄、随意修改设计”。

他声称这艘护卫舰“是根据同级别中一艘非常成功的舰艇设计的，你知道，就设计而言。”

“我们本来已经搞定了，结果他们改了。他们总是要改。你知道，这些人一上来就觉得自己很聪明，但很多时候，很不幸，他们并不聪明，他们花更多的钱，把事情搞得更糟。他们就是这样。我的意思是，他们花更多的钱，结果却更糟，”他说。

芬坎蒂尼集团首席执行官福尔杰罗周一在与分析师交流时表示，他希望美国和意大利之间的海军技术合作能够为美国海军造船业的升级做出贡献。

他指出，在意大利总理乔治亚·梅洛尼4月访问华盛顿后发表的美意联合领导人声明中指出，“意大利将为美国造船业的海洋复兴做出贡献”。

他表示，希望芬坎蒂尼集团在威斯康星州斯特金湾的另一家船厂能够提高产能，专注于破冰船的建造。

“新的北极航线备受关注，这对政府而言也日益重要。破冰船就是技术驱动型造船的一个很好的例子，”他说道，并补充说，芬坎蒂尼集团可以利用其在该船型方面的现有专业知识。

他还表示，芬坎蒂尼集团可以在其位于佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔的工厂建立一个星座级护卫舰的维修和维护中心。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。