The DDX class is a planned Italian Navy guided-missile destroyer, with two ships ordered from Orizzonte Sistemi Navali in 2026, designed for integrated air and missile defence to replace the Durand de la Penne class. Key figures: displacement 13,500 tons, length 180 m, crew 251. In service with 1 navy — Italy.
| Subtype | Guided-missile destroyer |
| Displacement | 13500 tons |
| Crew | 251 members |
| Length | 180.0 m (590.6 ft) |
| Range | 4,000 nm |
The DDX class is a class of two guided-missile destroyers ordered for the Italian Navy (Marina Militare). The destroyers will replace the Durand de la Penne-class destroyers Luigi Durand de la Penne (D 560) and Francesco Mimbelli (D 561), both in service since 1993. The DDX programme first appeared in the Italian Ministry of Defence's Documento Programmatico Pluriennale in 2020. On 15 December 2021, Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN), a joint venture of Fincantieri (51%) and Leonardo (49%), received a risk-reduction and preliminary design contract. The original plan called for a production contract in 2023 and a first delivery in 2028. According to Infodifesa, problems with defining operational requirements and funding delayed the programme by about three years.
OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d'Armement) manages the procurement together with the Direzione Nazionale degli Armamenti. OSN was named sole contractor through a negotiated procedure because it holds the intellectual property for the FREMM EVO design, from which the DDX was reported to derive. Fincantieri and Navantia signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 to study cooperation on the programme.
On 24 September 2026, OCCAR and OSN signed a contract worth about €3.7 billion, including about €1.3 billion in options. The contract covers development, production, logistic studies and Initial In-Service Support. OSN is to place sub-supply contracts with Fincantieri (about €1.8 billion) and Leonardo (about €1.7 billion).
Fincantieri is the platform system integrator for the DDX class, and Leonardo is responsible for the combat system. Fincantieri describes the ships as an evolution of the Horizon-class destroyers.
The combat system combines:
This configuration is intended to provide integrated air and missile defence against missile, ballistic and hypersonic threats. ELT Group will supply the electronic warfare suite.
Platform features include a DC power sub-network with an energy storage system, a stabilisation system integrated with the steering system, and a further development of the Ship Management System. The destroyers follow Fincantieri's Navis Sapiens concept, which collects data from all onboard systems for decision-making, technical management and lifecycle support. A shore link connects the ships to a Digital Naval Base for predictive maintenance and logistic support. A digital backbone allows each ship to control underwater and surface unmanned vehicles.
Pre-contract estimates published by GlobalSecurity in early 2026, not confirmed by the contract announcement, gave the following armament:
The same estimates listed a Leonardo four-face S-band AESA radar, first disclosed at Seafuture 2025. It would be supported by Kronos StarFire X-band arrays and a rotating Kronos Power Shield L-band radar. They also listed CODOGAL propulsion.
The DDX will be 180 metres long, displace about 13,500 tonnes, have a range of 4,000 nautical miles and a crew of 251. No DDX-class ship has yet been built. Delivery of the first destroyer is scheduled for 2033 and the second for 2035. The DDX ships are to serve alongside the two Orizzonte-class destroyers, D 553 and D 554, and to escort the aircraft carrier Cavour and the amphibious assault ship Trieste. Italian defence planning documents for 2025–2027 envisage two further DDX units to succeed the Orizzonte class, for a total of four.
Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, the Fincantieri-Leonardo joint venture, signed a contract worth about €3.7 billion with OCCAR on September 24 for two DDX air and missile defense destroyers for the Italian Navy, with deliveries due in 2033 and 2035.