Italy has launched early studies for a next-generation aircraft carrier, described in its 2025–2027 Multi-Year Defense Planning Document (DPP) as the Portaerei di nuova generazione, within a record €31.2 billion ($33 billion) defense budget for 2025, up 7.2% from 2024.
The plan allocates €3 million ($3.2 million) this year for the development of advanced naval technologies, with €1 million ($1.1 million) designated for 2026 and €2 million ($2.2 million) for 2027. These funds will support feasibility studies for a future multi-capability carrier and a next-generation submarine, both envisioned as long-term modernization pillars of the Italian Navy.
Toward a nuclear-powered flagship?
Although the DPP does not explicitly mention nuclear propulsion, a related initiative known as Project Minerva sheds light on Italy’s broader ambitions. Led by Fincantieri in partnership with Ansaldo Nucleare, RINA Services, and the University of Genoa, the project explores the integration of new-generation small nuclear reactors aboard frontline naval vessels.
The Minerva feasibility study was launched in 2023 under the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Naval Armaments, with funding of approximately €588,000 ($640,000), later supplemented by additional allocations reported by industry sources. The study focuses on compact lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR) with an electric output of around 30 MW, a configuration suited to long-endurance, power-intensive ships such as aircraft carriers.
Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero has described naval nuclear technology as a “parallel path” to civil nuclear development, positioning Italy among a small group of European nations exploring small modular reactor (SMR) propulsion.
The ‘Portaerei di nuova generazione’ is expected to succeed the Cavour in the 2030s and could incorporate electromagnetic launch systems (EMALS) to operate heavier crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
However, the aircraft to equip the new carrier remains undetermined. Italy is a partner in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with the UK and Japan, but that sixth-generation fighter is not being developed in a navalized variant. Unless Rome pursues an alternative or derivative design, the Marina Militare will likely continue relying on the F-35B Lightning II as its primary carrier-borne fighter into the next decade.
If realized, the carrier would mark a historic shift for Italy, which has never operated nuclear-powered vessels and dismantled its civilian nuclear infrastructure following a 1987 referendum.
Italy’s move mirrors France’s Porte-Avions de Nouvelle Génération (PANG) program, a 75,000-ton nuclear-powered carrier expected to begin construction by 2026 and replace the Charles de Gaulle. Spain also launched a feasibility study for a future aircraft carrier equipped with catapults and arresting gear. These initiatives highlight a broader European revival in blue-water naval power and force projection.
Six new maritime patrol aircraft to fill gap in anti-submarine warfare
The DPP also confirms the acquisition of six Maritime Multi Mission Aircraft (M3A) for the Italian Air Force, addressing a long-standing gap in maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare capability since the retirement of the Breguet BR 1150 Atlantic fleet in 2017. Italy is reportedly evaluating Japan’s Kawasaki P-1 as a candidate platform, a purpose-built jet that would replace its limited-capability Leonardo P-72A fleet.
In service since 2013, the Kawasaki P-1 was developed indigenously by Kawasaki Aerospace Company to replace Japan’s aging Lockheed P-3C Orion.
Unlike most maritime patrol aircraft, which are typically converted from commercial or transport airframes, the P-1 was designed from the ground up for long-range anti-submarine and maritime surveillance missions.
The aircraft features four IHI F7-10 turbofan engines and mission systems developed domestically, including a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) and a fly-by-light flight-control system that reduces electromagnetic interference with onboard sensors.
Defense spending is projected to remain at €31.2 billion ($33 billion) in 2026 and rise slightly to €31.7 billion ($33.5 billion) in 2027, maintaining historically high investment levels. The plan also allocates significant funding for munitions procurement, aimed at strengthening national stockpiles and ensuring operational resilience.
