Portugal to buy three frigates built by Italy's Fincantieri
The deal includes maintenance, technology transfer and national industry participation, with deliveries planned for 2029 to 2030, officials said.
- On Monday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Portuguese Prime Minister Montenegro announced a state-to-state agreement for three FREMM EVO frigates, formalized at the Army Palace in Rome to modernize the Portuguese Navy.
- This purchase falls under the SAFE modernization program, a €5.8 billion effort to re-equip the Portuguese Armed Forces and reinforce Europe's technological capacity amid evolving geopolitical threats.
- Prime Minister Montenegro stated the contract is worth nearly €3.9 billion ; each 144-meter vessel reaches speeds over 27 knots and integrates advanced anti-drone and unmanned systems.
- Fincantieri will deliver the three frigates between 2029 and 2030, prioritizing two ships for the Italian Navy first, while also revitalizing the Alfeite Arsenal and supporting national defense companies.
- The Portuguese Navy has yet to select an anti-ship missile, with the choice pending between Teseo Mk2 and NSM systems, though these vessels will support operational missions for at least 30 years.
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Portugal to Acquire 3 FREMM EVO Frigates from Italy
On July 20, 2026, Portugal’s defence ministry announced that it signed an agreement with Italy for the procurement of three new-generation frigates for the Portuguese Navy. The FREMM EVO will be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. Portuguese MoD press release The Minister of National Defence, Nuno Melo, and the Chief of Staff of the Navy, ... The post Portugal and Italy Partner on Three New Frigates for Portuguese Navy appeared first on Na…
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ussanews.comPortugal to purchase three frigates from Italy’s Fincantieri: Meloni
The Italian prime minister said the deal is a “recognition of Italian defense industry but also of how Europe can reinforce its autonomy by investing in its own technological capacity and companies.”
(Agenzia Vista) Rome, 20 July 2026 "One of the sectors in which we can certainly make a qualitative leap is that of the defence industry. I am very happy with the decision of the Portuguese authority to buy three Fremm Evo frigates built by Fincantieri: it is a recognition of the excellence of Italian industry, but also the demonstration that Europe can strengthen its autonomy by investing in the industrial and technological capacities that its …
Portugal decided to buy three frigates built by the Italian shipyard Fincantieri, announced on Monday (20) the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, celebrating the agreement as an impulse for the defence industry of Europe. FREMM frigates are multipurpose warships designed jointly by Fincantieri and the French Naval Group. A source with knowledge of the subject estimated that the agreement with Portugal is valued at 3 billion euros. Meloni s…
The Portuguese Navy today has five main frigates: three Vasco da Gama, entered into service in the early 1990s, and two Bartolomeu Dias, purchased used by the Netherlands and subsequently modernized
In addition to the investment in Italian frigates, Luís Montenegro considered that it is beginning "a new phase in relations between Portugal and Italy", which begins with a visit by a prime minister who did not take place 12 years ago.
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