Portugal signs €3.9 billion deal with Italy for three FREMM EVO frigates, ensuring fleet renewal and local industry involvement.
Portugal is renewing its fleet with a €3.9 billion agreement for three FREMM EVO frigates.
An intergovernmental agreement signed between Portugal and Italy will provide the Portuguese Navy with three next-generation FREMM EVO frigates. The program, valued at approximately €3.9 billion, equivalent to about $4.5 billion at current exchange rates, encompasses not only the construction of the ships but also at least 30 years of maintenance support, technology transfer, participation of the Portuguese defense industry, and the revitalization of the Alfeite Shipyard.
As part of the renewal of its aging surface fleet, Portugal has decided to procure three FREMM EVO class multi-purpose frigates from Italy. The agreement was announced to the public following a meeting between Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during Montenegro's official visit to Rome on July 20, 2026. The Portuguese Navy stated that the signed document is of an intergovernmental nature and that the delivery of the new ships is planned between 2029 and 2030.
The signing ceremony held at the Army Palace in Rome was attended by Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo, Chief of the Portuguese Navy Admiral Jorge Nobre de Sousa, and Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. The agreement was signed on behalf of Portugal by Deputy Director General of Armaments Rear Admiral António Mateus. The ships are expected to be produced by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri.
Portuguese Prime Minister Montenegro announced that the total investment for the three frigates is approximately €3.9 billion. This amount corresponds to about $4.5 billion based on the euro-dollar exchange rate at the time the agreement was announced. Montenegro stated that the new ships will enhance Portugal's capacity to monitor maritime resources, protect strategic interests, and contribute to the security of international maritime trade.
Different figures regarding the financial magnitude of the agreement have appeared in international news. Reuters published an estimate of approximately €3 billion based on a source close to the agreement, while the official total investment amount announced by the Portuguese Prime Minister was €3.9 billion. Portuguese authorities have not yet published a detailed cost breakdown separating ship construction, weapon and sensor packages, ammunition, training, infrastructure investments, and 30 years of support costs. Therefore, the figure of €3.9 billion should be regarded not just as the price of three bare ships but as the budget for a comprehensive program.
The frigate program will be carried out under the European Union's defense financing mechanism known as Security Action for Europe, or SAFE. Portugal's plan within the SAFE framework is approximately €5.8 billion in size, with the frigate acquisition constituting the largest portion of this funding. It is particularly important to note that SAFE is not a direct grant but a financing tool that provides long-term and cost-effective loans. In other words, Lisbon will rapidly renew its navy with European funding, but the financing used will ultimately be repaid by Portugal.
According to the Portuguese Ministry of Defense, the agreement will not end with the delivery of the three ships. The program aims to support the frigates for at least 30 years of service, facilitate technology transfer, involve Portuguese companies in the supply chain, and establish maintenance capabilities within the country. The Portuguese Navy also reported that the intergovernmental agreement encompasses the sustainability of the ships throughout their entire life cycle.
One of the most significant aspects of the program in Portugal is the revitalization of the Arsenal do Alfeite, located at the Lisbon Naval Base. The Portuguese Ministry of Defense stated that screening activities will be conducted at Alfeite, facilities and equipment will be modernized, and personnel will receive training for next-generation warships. Portuguese companies are also expected to participate in areas such as floating docks, combat systems, operational software, simulators, and integrated communication systems.
However, the scale of local industry participation has not yet been quantified. The Portuguese defense and aerospace cluster AED Cluster Portugal announced that preliminary discussions have been held with some companies, but it is unknown which of these contacts will turn into contracts. The Ministry of Defense also stated that it would announce the names of the companies participating in the program and the exact investment amount allocated to Alfeite later. Therefore, while there is political will for technology transfer and economic return, how the pie will be divided remains shrouded in uncertainty for now.
The current main surface strength of the Portuguese Navy consists of five frigates. NRP Vasco da Gama, NRP Álvares Cabral, and NRP Corte-Real make up the Vasco da Gama class, while NRP Bartolomeu Dias and NRP D. Francisco de Almeida belong to the Bartolomeu Dias class. The Vasco da Gama class ships entered service in Portugal in 1991, while the hulls of the Bartolomeu Dias class, purchased second-hand from the Netherlands, were built in the early 1990s. Thus, the platform age of all five ships exceeds 30 years.
While the new FREMM EVOs are primarily expected to replace the three Vasco da Gama class frigates, Portuguese authorities have not published a definitive timeline indicating which ship will be decommissioned and when. The recent modernization of the Bartolomeu Dias class ships suggests that these two frigates may remain in service for some time after the new vessels arrive. At this stage, what is certain is that the three FREMM EVOs will only renew a portion of the current five-ship frigate force.
FREMM EVO stands out as the latest version of the FREMM family developed by Italy and France, based on the Italian design line. According to official data from Fincantieri regarding the FREMM platform, the ships are approximately 144 meters long, 19.7 meters wide, and have a full-load displacement of about 6,700 tons. The platform, using a CODLAG-type hybrid propulsion system, can exceed speeds of 27 knots and offers a range of approximately 6,000 nautical miles at an economic cruising speed of 15 knots. The ships have living quarters for around 200 personnel, including the crew.
The main leap of the FREMM EVO is seen not in the hull but in the electronic and combat systems. The Italian baseline configuration includes an enhanced cyber resilience SADOC 4 combat management system, fixed-surface X and C band dual-band radars, improved electronic warfare equipment, a new sonar package, modernized tactical data links, and sensors supporting air defense against ballistic missile threats. The ships are also equipped with systems for managing air, surface, and underwater unmanned vehicles within a joint operational network and for defending against next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle threats.
According to information obtained by Naval News, Fincantieri will first complete two FREMM EVOs currently in production for the Italian Navy before proceeding with the construction of the Portuguese ships. It has been stated that the existing hulls being built for Italy will not be delivered to Portugal, and the three new ships will be produced separately. According to the same source, the Portuguese frigates will be close to the Italian FREMM EVO baseline configuration, except for national adaptations in the communication systems. However, the exact missile, gun, torpedo, sonar, and electronic warfare arrangements of the ships have not yet been detailed by Portuguese authorities.
The new frigates are planned to be used in missions such as open-sea surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, surface warfare, protection of maritime transport routes, and participation in NATO task groups. The Portuguese government emphasizes that the program will serve not only the country's own maritime jurisdiction tasks but also international defense and collective security obligations. Considering the vast maritime area opening to the Atlantic Ocean and the responsibility zones around the Azores and Madeira, Lisbon aims to establish a core force suitable for long-range and high-density maritime operations, rather than merely relying on patrol capability.
The signing in Rome has initiated one of the largest modernization steps for the Portuguese Navy in recent years. However, the true success of the program will not be measured solely by the technical capabilities of the ships on paper. The disclosure of a detailed cost breakdown, the contractual allocation of work to the Portuguese industry, the timely preparation of Alfeite's infrastructure, and the delivery of the three ships within a tight schedule around 2029-2030 will be decisive. In maritime affairs, ceremonial photographs are easy; the true judgment comes from the timeline, the shipyard, and maritime experience.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
