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Submarine Proliferation
Italy Import Behavior
Capabilities | Import | Export
 Construction of Type 212A submarines at Fincantieri, September 2001. Source: Italian Navy Website, http://www.marina.difesa.it/programmi/ programmi04.htm. |
Italy has traditionally constructed its own submarines. However, in 1995 the German and Italian defense ministries concluded a Memorandum of Understanding initiating cooperation in the construction of a new generation of submarines. Italy's Fincantieri Shipyard is currently manufacturing Type 212A submarines based on designs from Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW). While the boats' equipment is similar to that of the German Type 212, they use different torpedoes and electro-optic masts. In addition, the submarines had to be adapted to operate for longer patrols in the warmer, more saline waters of the Mediterranean, which cannot be used as coolant without refrigeration.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the
opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or
its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by
MIIS.
