The Italian Navy’s next-generation FREMM EVO frigates have passed a major milestone, with the program completing its Critical Design Review (CDR) across the platform, combat system, and whole-warship configuration, including integrated logistics support. The review confirms that the design has reached sufficient maturity to begin construction without major redesign risk, keeping the program on track for deliveries scheduled in June 2029 and June 2030.
The Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) announced the successful completion of the CDR on December 19, 2025, marking a decisive transition from detailed design to physical construction. For naval programs, the CDR represents the point at which the government customer formally accepts that drawings, interfaces, performance margins, and sustainment concepts are stable enough to allow steel cutting without jeopardizing cost or schedule.
In the case of FREMM EVO, the review also underscores Italy’s strategic choice to evolve an existing, combat-proven frigate class rather than pursue a clean-sheet design. By building on the Bergamini-class FREMM lineage, the Italian Navy aims to integrate new technologies and operational lessons while minimizing developmental risk and accelerating fleet renewal.
With the CDR complete, FREMM EVO moves beyond conceptual upgrades into a clearly defined combat system tailored to contemporary maritime threats. Italian naval planners have increasingly focused on operational environments stretching from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea, where cruise missiles, one-way attack drones, cyber threats, and seabed vulnerabilities now coexist with traditional surface and submarine warfare challenges.
OCCAR and prime contractor Fincantieri have highlighted several areas where the EVO variant diverges from earlier FREMM ships. On the platform side, the frigates will feature a cyber-resilient Ship Management System, upgraded air-conditioning and electrical distribution networks, and design measures intended to reduce environmental impact. These enhancements are not only aimed at sustainability but also at supporting sustained high-power operation and improved endurance during long deployments.
Combat system upgrades are more extensive. FREMM EVO will be equipped with the SADOC 4 cyber-resilient combat management system, representing a generational leap in data processing, sensor fusion, and networked warfare. The ships will also carry fixed-face X-C dual-band radar sensors designed to improve detection and tracking of advanced air and missile threats, including those associated with theatre ballistic missile defense.
Additional enhancements are planned across electronic warfare, artillery, missile systems, sonar suites, communications, and tactical data links, reinforcing the ships’ role as fully integrated nodes within NATO maritime task groups.
The FREMM EVO builds on a platform architecture that has already demonstrated flexibility and operational value. Italy’s baseline FREMM design is a 144.6-meter frigate with a Combined Diesel-Electric and Gas (CODLAG) propulsion system, pairing a 32 MW LM2500+ gas turbine with electric motors optimized for quiet running. The ships can reach speeds of approximately 27 knots and have a range of around 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots, with an azimuth thruster improving maneuverability at low speeds.
Quiet electric propulsion remains central to anti-submarine warfare (ASW), while the double helicopter hangar significantly extends the ship’s reach for ASW, surveillance, and surface strike missions.
Where FREMM EVO becomes tactically distinctive is in the way it appears to integrate lessons from Italy’s newest naval platforms into the established FREMM envelope. Reporting from recent European naval exhibitions suggests that while the hull and propulsion remain unchanged, the superstructure has been redesigned to host systems derived from Italy’s broader naval modernization program.
Chief among these is the Leonardo Kronos Dual-Band Radar suite, featuring fixed active electronically scanned array (AESA) panels providing continuous 360-degree coverage. This sensor architecture is intended to support layered air and missile defense while improving resilience against saturation attacks.
The EVO configuration is also expected to field an evolved integrated electronic warfare suite with a strong emphasis on countering unmanned aerial systems. A dedicated counter-UAS package is described as combining detection, identification, and soft-kill effects, while hard-kill options may center on remotely operated 30 mm gun mounts capable of firing airburst ammunition.
In this layered defensive architecture, long-range surveillance and threat cueing are provided by the dual-band radar, medium-range engagements are handled by the 76/62 Strales gun using guided DART ammunition, and close-in defenses address small drones, fast attack craft, and leakers that penetrate the outer layers.
Despite the focus on air and drone threats, underwater warfare remains a core mission. All ASW capabilities of Italy’s in-service FREMM ASW variants are expected to carry over, including a hull-mounted sonar, the CAPTAS-4C variable depth sonar, and a towed array system. These sensors are complemented by embarked helicopters and lightweight torpedoes, giving commanders a full-spectrum ASW toolkit.
The upgraded combat system and data links are intended to further enhance interoperability with allied navies, particularly in complex, multinational operations.
The FREMM EVO order was formalized under a contract amendment signed in July 2024. The System Design Review was completed in May 2025 as the first step of the definition phase, leading to the successful CDR by the end of the year. The program’s estimated value stands at around EUR 1.5 billion.
Positioned as a cornerstone of Italy’s long-term fleet renewal plan, the FREMM EVO frigates are designed to ensure that the Marina Militare can adapt rapidly to evolving maritime threats while safeguarding sea lines of communication and national strategic interests well into the 2030s.
