Paris: The European Union has started work on a next-generation combat vessel that could enter service somewhere in the 2040s, and the bloc’s defence ministers may sign a letter of intent (LoI) to pursue the project at a meeting in two weeks, the head of the maritime unit of the European Defence Agency (EDA) said.
Six EU member states are “very much interested,” including four with bigger navies, Jürgen Scraback, who heads the maritime domain unit at the EDA, said at the Euronaval conference here, after participating in a panel discussion about the plans.
EU countries are estimated to need at least thirty combat ships in the future, though Scraback said he doesn’t believe all of those would be built within the European Combat Vessel program. The EDA official expects the program budget could exceed €20 billion ($22 billion) in 2024 prices.
“This new generation of vessels will be completely different from the vessels that we have now, because the naval warfare scenario is changing a lot,” said Fernando Miguélez García, chairman of the European Naval Industry Group (ENIG) within the European Aerospace, Security and Defence Industry Association, who was part of the panel discussion.
Design changes would likely entail having a mothership-type capability to carry drones into combat, he added.
“If you stay with your old doctrine, you will be dead very rapidly,” said French Navy Chief of Staff Adm Nicolas Vaujour.
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