TRIESTE – Fincantieri is strengthening its presence in naval defence with the development of Spectre, a new class of high-performance uncrewed surface vessels built in the United States in collaboration with Saildrone.
The Italian group, through Fincantieri Marine Group, will build the naval drones. The announcement was made during the Sea-Air-Space exhibition under way in Maryland.
Spectre was created to meet growing demand from navies for autonomous naval systems. The project focuses on serial production, industrial reliability and large-scale deployment capabilities. Construction will be entrusted to Fincantieri’s US shipyards in Wisconsin, making use of already operational facilities and specialised labour.
From a technical standpoint, the unit is around 52 metres long, with a displacement of about 250 tonnes and a maximum speed of up to 30 knots. It is the largest and highest-performance platform developed by Saildrone so far. It is designed in particular for anti-submarine warfare operations, with a very low acoustic profile and long endurance, but remains reconfigurable for other missions, including high-speed and low-observability operations.
The initiative is part of Fincantieri’s strategy to integrate unmanned solutions into its defence portfolio, adding complex systems integration capabilities to traditional shipbuilding. The programme is based on Fincantieri Marine Group’s industrial production experience with aluminium vessels. Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero stressed that Spectre represents a step towards an industrial model focused on scalable and rapidly deployable platforms, combining shipbuilding expertise with autonomous technologies.
The project also strengthens the group’s positioning in the United States, with benefits for the local industrial supply chain and a direct contribution to the operational requirements of the United States Navy and allied navies.
