July 21, 2018 – The United States government awarded to a
Lockheed Martin-led team, which includes Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), an
Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA), to advance work in support of the
construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants ships, as part of the
Foreign Military Sales program for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fincantieri
will be the builder at the Marinette yard in Wisconsin.
The UCA, awarded in an amount of up to 450 million dollars,
will fund detailed design and planning in support of construction, which will
be performed by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine. The
Multi-Mission Surface Combatant is a lethal and highly maneuverable multi-mission
surface combatant, which features the flexibility of the Freedom-variant
Littoral Combat Ship steel mono-hull, built by the same team, an increased
range of 5,000 nautical miles and speeds in excess of 30 knots, making it
capable of littoral and open ocean operation, and able to confront modern
maritime and economic security threats.
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, commented:
“This prestigious award proves the farsightedness of our decision to enter the US market. Since then, over the past ten years we have become a reference builder not only for the US Navy, but also for several foreign Navies, while contributing to the development of the industrial base and of the economic fabric in the Midwest”.
Lockheed Martin and FMM, together with the naval architect
Gibbs & Cox and over 800 suppliers in 42 states, are already cooperating
for the US Navy’s LCS program, one of the most ambitious in the world within
the surface ships.
Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG), which owns Fincantieri
Marinette Marine and two more yards again in the Great Lakes region,
Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Fincantieri Ace Marine, since 2008 has
invested more than 130 million dollars to modernize the Wisconsin shipyards,
hiring and training more than 1,000 people.
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