TRIESTE – The Pula shipyard (Uljanik Brodogradnja) is set to play a central role in the proposal put forward by the Spanish group Navantia to Croatia under the Navy’s programme to acquire new multirole corvettes.
The company has in fact signed a letter of intent with the Istrian shipyard, paving the way for industrial cooperation aimed at directly involving the Croatian shipbuilding industry in the project’s implementation.
The proposal was presented in Zagreb during an Industry Day organised at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, a meeting designed to outline the contents of the offer and, above all, to open a dialogue with the country’s industrial system. More than fifty representatives of Croatian companies took part in the event, including shipyards, engineering firms and suppliers from the maritime sector, with the aim of building a cooperation network capable of supporting the programme over the long term.
Navantia’s offer is based on an already proven naval platform, the Avante 2200 / ALFA 3000, a family of corvettes designed to NATO standards and already adopted by several navies. These are multirole vessels intended for surveillance, defence and maritime control operations, characterised by high operational flexibility and by a design that allows the integration of different weapon systems and sensors. According to the company, the fact that the project is already established is one of the proposal’s main strengths: the platform has already been tested and significantly reduces technical risks, ensuring more reliable delivery schedules and greater operational dependability.
But the Spanish project is not limited to supplying the ships. Navantia has also put forward a comprehensive industrial and technological cooperation package aimed at building a stable partnership with the Croatian production system. It is in this context that the agreement with the Pula shipyard fits in, as it could be involved in the construction, integration or support activities for the naval units, becoming one of the nodes in the future industrial supply chain.
Alongside the agreement with Uljanik, Navantia has also signed a second letter of intent with the Croatian company Nortes Blue, active in engineering and defence services. The aim is to create an industrial ecosystem that includes not only shipyards but also technology companies, component suppliers and specialised service providers.
In detail, the proposal presented to Croatia provides for the construction and delivery of two multirole corvettes, accompanied by a broad support programme. The package includes integrated logistics support, the supply of spare parts, training programmes for crews and technical personnel, advanced simulation systems and operational support from the Spanish Navy. Added to this is a local industrial participation plan that should allow Croatian companies to enter Navantia’s international supply chain, with possible spillover effects on other naval programmes of the group.
