On March 8, the project team behind the European patrol corvette met with representatives of the Italian, French, Spanish and Greek navies and the European Defense Agency (EDA). Thanks to this, we learned a few details about what the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) issue looks like today.
Design work for a European patrol corvette is progressing
The EPC program, as part of the PESCO initiative, was launched by four European countries in 2019 and will also be implemented by four companies from three countries, among which the Fincantieri shipyard stands out. The aforementioned meeting in March this year was devoted to the development of common requirements and laying the foundations for these unique, because European patrol corvettes.
At the moment, Italy is mainly involved in the project, coordinating the program, in which France, Greece and Spain also participate, while Portugal has only just expressed its interest and may simply join the EPC in the future. With the support of the European Defense Agency (EDA), there has recently been convergence in the preparation of background papers in order to set the direction for the development of the entire program.
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Thanks to this, we know that the European patrol corvette will face a whole lot of potential tasks, both patrol and combat. It is difficult to talk about the specification at the moment, but we know that the next step in the development will be to start the approval process of national operational requirements. The contract for the construction of European corvettes could be signed as early as 2025, the keel of the first ship could take place in 2026, and deliveries could take place in 2030.
