A group of European nations is forming a consortium to develop a patrol corvette suited for their individual needs. This decision comes as the need for customized vessels built to suit the needs of specific nations and what systems will be fitted onto them.
The EU defense will make the upcoming warship cheap, effective, and versatile for a few different mission types it will be utilized. These countries are France, Italy, Spain, and Greece that will initiate the project.
Instead of bigger ships like destroyers, they will be frigates and corvettes but armed heavily with offensive weapons and defensive systems.
Four nations' common platform to develop patrol corvette
It is based on the specifications of the European Union, with several members bankrolling the project, which will be called the Patrol Corvette that will serve in most naval forces in the EU.
The objective is to build a multi-purpose vessel equipped with any weapons system and heavily customizable. A final design will be a jack of all trades and with swappable loadout that will be like plug and play, even have the base ship as an option too, reported 19FortyFive.
Most participating countries make it a collaborative program that will consider how the warship will be used. For now, all the consortium members are looking at two main versions to be built.
The two versions planned are the heavier armed Full Combat and the Long-Range multi-purpose version with several differences between them, despite the similar platforms of the Patrol Corvette.
Primary configuration of the corvette
The fully armed version is mounted a good number of missiles for air defense and ship killing operations, emphasizing the most weapons it can load for its cargo. But the long-range version is to have the ability to conduct a process in longer ranges and project force distantly.
The size of the vessels is about 330 feet long and has a displacement of 3,000 tons. It is smaller than a destroyer but is more compact and dense.
Italy will get eight of the European Corvette Program (ECP) of the countries signed on the deal. Next, France and Spain will get six-ship each. Last is Greece with no specific number in mind but is shopping for a new ship, noted TakTikz.
Several considerations are crucial before the four nations start deciding the specifics and more delicate details for the European Defense Fund in early December 2021.
It would cost about $7 billion to fund the project, and the projected cost per ship produced is from $250 to 300 million once the project starts rolling.
Besides the four EU nations involved, Portugal and Denmark have signaled interest in the corvette project.
Compared to the AUKUS pact that includes Australia, the UK, and the US, which dealt with nuclear submarines, Canberra ditched the deal with the French state-owned Naval Group. The US snuck in their value without consultation and took away potential income from the EU.
The deal's total cost was $60 billion, and the US and the UK will be the beneficiaries of the sale of nuclear-enabled subs. Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is the umbrella where the Patrol Corvette is included, with everything transparent and emphasizing EU defense.
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