Naval Program 2014 provides for the construction of innovative units featuring dual use characteristics that can be readily deployed – with no need for further modernization expenses – to support the Civil Protection in case of natural disasters.

Our new ships, designed to guarantee lower maintenance costs, will be manned by smaller crews (and yet with the possibility to embark extra complement), able to deal with a number of complex or long lasting operations. In fact, they have been designed to make the most of their dual use characteristics, to provide our Country with an all-purpose instrument that can be deployed in emergency situations concerning maritime security such as surveillance, Search & Rescue, natural disasters and so on. These units will be able to provide potable water, energy, or health assistance thanks to their clinics onboard.

The units built according to this project will allow a rationalization of the naval instrument achieving economies of scale thanks to the unification of:

• Product lines,
• Personnel training (courses, teaching supports, simulators),
• Logistics with optimization of stocks,
• Maintenance (one support line, rationalization of utilization of technical personnel),
• Highly specialized personnel interchangeable among units.

In the future, these new polyvalent units will allow a better cost/effectiveness ratio thus saving public money upon more command units at sea.

Last but not least, these innovative ships are more respectful of the environment since, on the one hand, they have been designed with specific care for exhaust fumes and water rediction, and the use of bio-fuel; on the other hand, they can be deployed to enclose wide portions of contaminated sea, with the possibility to collect and stock onboard the pollutants (i.e. logistic unit and offshore patrol vessels). This dual use capacity makes the units fully exploitable in times of peace as well. Specifically, with the resources allotted by the 2014 Stability Law (5.4 billion Euros), it will be possible to build offshore patrol vessels, an amphibious unit, a logistic unit and to phase out ageing units according to a naval phase out programme.