Italian parliament OKs frigate, Leopard tank deals

ROME — Italy’s parliament has approved the planned acquisition of two new FREMM frigates with updated electronics and 132 combat-version Leopard tanks as well as 140 other tank versions.

The new buys, approved Feb. 21 by the parliament’s defense commission, are part of a uptick in Italian military spending partly spurred by the Ukraine conflict.

Italy has previously ordered 10 FREMM frigates; the latest orders, dubbed FREMM EVO, will take the fleet to 12. Italy has already taken delivery of eight vessels.

The ninth and tenth vessels were under construction when they were sold to Egypt and have been replaced with new orders.

The two FREMM EVO vessels, which will together cost €2 billion (U.S. $2.2 billion), will boast upgrades to their combat management systems and radar and electronic warfare suites as well as to the sonar, gun, communications and missile systems.

The second green light from parliament was for Italy’s planned purchase of Leopard 2A8 tanks to replace its ageing Ariete tanks and make good on NATO commitments.

The 14-year program will start with a two-year development effort to achieve what has been called an ‘Italianized’ Leopard, bringing in local firms to add systems to the German tank.

Lorenzo Mariani, the co-director general of Italian defense firm Leonardo, told Defense News this month Italy will add its own, domestically-manufactured components, including a Leonardo-supplied electro-optical sensor, software-defined radio, command-and-control system and possibly a gun barrel.

Between 2027 and 2037, assembly in Italy will occur with 132 main battle tanks produced to equip two tank regiments and 140 versions for other roles, including engineering.

With multiyear logistics, training and munitions included, Italy expects the overall cost of the program to reach nearly €8.3 billion euros, according to documents supplied to parliament.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利议会已批准采购两艘配备升级电子设备的新型FREMM护卫舰、132辆战斗型豹式坦克以及140辆其他型号的坦克。

2月21日，议会国防委员会批准了这批新的采购计划，这是意大利军费开支增加的一部分，而乌克兰冲突是造成军费开支增加的部分原因。

意大利此前已订购了 10 艘 FREMM 护卫舰；最新订购的 FREMM EVO 型护卫舰将使该舰队规模达到 12 艘。意大利已经接收了其中 8 艘。

第九艘和第十艘船在建造过程中被卖给了埃及，后来被新的订单取代。

这两艘 FREMM EVO 型护卫舰总造价为 20 亿欧元（22 亿美元），其作战管理系统、雷达和电子战套件以及声呐、火炮、通信和导弹系统都将得到升级。

议会批准的第二个项目是意大利计划购买豹2A8坦克，以取代其老旧的阿里埃特坦克，并履行其对北约的承诺。

这项为期 14 年的计划将首先进行为期两年的研发工作，以实现所谓的“意大利化”豹式坦克，引入当地公司为德国坦克添加系统。

意大利国防公司莱昂纳多的联合总经理洛伦佐·马里亚尼本月告诉《防务新闻》，意大利将添加其国产组件，包括莱昂纳多提供的光电传感器、软件定义无线电、指挥控制系统，以及可能的炮管。

2027 年至 2037 年间，意大利将进行组装，生产 132 辆主战坦克，用于装备两个坦克团，以及 140 辆用于其他用途（包括工程）的坦克。

根据提交给议会的文件，意大利预计，包括多年的后勤、培训和弹药在内，该计划的总成本将达到近 83 亿欧元。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。