Italy’s DDX Destroyer Tender Path Starts Now

In recent hours, Italy has formally set the procurement machinery in motion for two new-generation destroyers—labelled DDG in official language and widely referred to as DDX—by publishing a prior information notice in the EU Official Journal. The notice points to 18 February 2026 as the moment when the actual procedure is expected to begin, with an overall budget envelope of about €2.7 billion (VAT excluded).

This is not just another shipbuilding line item. By signalling a negotiated procedure run through OCCAR and already framing Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) as the unavoidable industrial counterpart, the Ministry of Defence is effectively locking in the governance, the industrial architecture, and the strategic intent of Italy’s next “high-end” surface combatants.

The notice matters because it turns years of studies into a calendar. OSN itself traces the programme back to a 15 December 2021 contract focused on risk reduction and design definition for a “new generation destroyer (DDG)”, split into a feasibility phase and a project-definition phase.  Today’s step is the bridge from concept work to an acquisition that—crucially—already includes through-life support and technology evolution across the ships’ service life, not only construction.

Industrial continuity is the other key signal. The documentation presented in open sources describes the DDX as an evolution building on the FREMM EVO baseline, with OSN highlighted as the holder of the relevant industrial and intellectual-property rights that justify a negotiated path without a traditional open tender.  In practice, Rome appears to be prioritising schedule and integration risk over competition—an approach that can make sense when the goal is to field a complex combat system on a tight operational timeline.

Strategically, the programme reinforces a simple reality: Italy wants to preserve a top-tier escort layer for carrier and amphibious groups, and a credible area air-defence capability for national and NATO missions in a Mediterranean that has become increasingly “missile-shaped” and drone-saturated. The DPP 2025–2027 framework discussed in Italian defence reporting also points to a broader trajectory: the first two units are meant to replace Durand de la Penne/Mimbelli, with additional ships envisaged later to replace the Doria-class destroyers.