Fincantieri Marine Repair (FMR) – a North American subsidiary of the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A., which has been present in the US since 2005 – has won several contracts from the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Under contracts collectively worth $943m, the contractor will provide maintenance, repairs and modernisation services for US Navy (USN) surface vessels based in the northwest of the US, which are short-term or less than ten months in duration.
The USN intends to homeport the first Constellation-class frigates in Everett, Washington; and this contract gives FMR the ability to compete for repair and maintenance opportunities in the Northwest, in addition to their work on the East Coast.
Constellation will have the capability to carry out multiple missions, including anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and electronic warfare. It can operate independently or as a part of a strike group. It is designed to perform operations in littoral and blue water environments.
USS Constellation is scheduled to be delivered in 2026, commissioned in 2029 and expected to achieve initial operational capability by 2030.
The notional designation of the Constellation class frigates is FFG(X) and the USN intends to acquire up to 20 under the FFG(X) programme.
Fincantieri and the Constellation class
The Constellation-class frigate will incorporate a modfied version of the Franco-Italian FREMM design that can meet the mission-specific requirements of the USN.
Prime contractors for the FREMM programme are Armaris of France and Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) of Italy.
Armaris was a joint subsidiary of DCN and Thales and is now wholly owned by DCNS, while the Italian OSN is a joint venture between Fincantieri and Finmeccanica.
Fincantieri’s subsidiary Marinette Marine was originally contracted to provide the USN with a preliminary design concept for the FFG(X) programme from as early as 2018. The frigate’s layout was designed to provide sufficient size for operational effectiveness, maintainability and sustained upgrades.
FMR began its operations in Jacksonville, Florida in 2022 to perform maintenance and repair services for vessels stationed nearby in Mayport.
With facilities strategically located on the St John’s River, the company offers extensive services for various types of vessels including cruise ships, mega yachts, bulk tankers, workboats, and military ships. FMR has worked on the repairs of USN Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship and of the USN Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer.
