Italy's FREMM Will Be a Year Late, Better-Armed

France and Italy are cooperating on the Fregate Europeene Multi-Mission (FREMM) program, which originally envisioned the construction of 27 frigates for the countries' navies, with Paris retaining a 17-vessel off-take, and Rome a commitment for the remaining 10 warships. Due to budgetary constraints France has reduced its order to 11 platforms. Italy has to date funded the manufacture of six; all of its ships are slated to be built by Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, a joint venture of Finmeccanica and Fincantieri. The first and sixth vessels are to be constructed to the general purpose standard, with ships two through five to be in the ASW configuration. The cost/ship is EUR380 mil ($570 mil). Rome is committed to placing the order for the final four ships by 2013.