Fincantieri’s submarine surge signals game-changer for European security

Europe’s maritime defence is entering a new era as Fincantieri, the continent’s shipbuilding giant, sounds the alarm for stronger underwater security.

With rising threats beneath the waves and America stepping back, the company is doubling down on cutting-edge submarine tech and autonomous vehicles - signaling a bold shift in Europe’s naval power play, Caliber.Az reports, citing Financial Times.

CEO Pierroberto Folgiero stressed the need for greater European responsibility in maritime security.

“The Mediterranean has always been populated by Russian and US submarines, it's up to us Europeans now to take responsibility for our underwater defence,” Folgiero said. He added, “If European countries are going to spend more on defence, we should spend better.”

The Italian state-owned company announced plans to double the size of its underwater division, which focuses on submarines, communication systems, and autonomous vehicles. It aims to reach 820 million euros in revenue by 2027 - about 8 per cent of its current total revenue.

Fincantieri expects the global underwater economy to grow by 50 billion euros annually as nations increase investments in underwater defense and security. The 2022 Nord Stream pipeline attack accelerated government efforts to strengthen underwater defenses, including unmanned drone systems and anti-submarine technologies.

Folgiero warned that threats to subsea cables and other critical marine infrastructure will likely rise, driving demand for technologies that prevent or lessen attack impacts. “Attention has focused on the Baltic Sea following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, but the Mediterranean is twice as big as the Baltic and a crucial juncture from a geopolitical perspective,” he said. “This is why we are betting on underwater defence and technology and increasing our industrial capabilities.”

Following the announcement, Fincantieri’s share price surged nearly 20 per cent to 15 euros per share. The company also revealed a partnership with Italian tech firm Graal Tech to develop autonomous underwater vehicles.

Antonio Gianfrancesco, analyst at Intermonte, called underwater technology “one of the key medium-to-long-term catalysts for [Fincantieri’s] equity story.”

Fincantieri has seen strong growth since the pandemic, fueled by acquisitions such as the 415 million-euro-purchase of Leonardo’s WASS submarine division in 2023 and Remazel, an offshore equipment firm. Its first-quarter 2025 earnings rose 35 per cent year-on-year to 2.37 billion euros, with a record order backlog of 57.6 billion euros -seven times its 2024 revenues.

By Naila Huseynova