European JVs Aim to Consolidate Underwater Weapons Systems

MU90 Eurotorp(click to view full) In December 2005, “Beyond Armaris: Thales “Buys” Minority Stake in DCN” covered the government-prodded merger of Thales naval business with state-owned DCN, to create DCNS. That agreement excluded some naval items like electronics, but it did include Thales’ 24% share in Eurotorp, the European lightweight torpedo consortium that was officially founded in 1993 as a joint venture between DCN International (26%), Thomson-CSF (now Thales, 24%) and Whitehead (now Finmeccanica, 50%). The DCNS transaction was not concluded until March 2007, and now the Eurotorp consortium has taken the next step by creating a more wide-ranging set of joint ventures in underwater weapons systems. The longer-term goal remains European integration, and the 3 CEOs have said they would consider opening the alliance to other European players at some point… Nov 30/07: At a Franco-Italian summit in Nice, the 3 partners sign the Heads of Agreement (HoA), setting forth the creation of 3 joint-ventures that are expected to close some time in 2008, following due diligence and regulatory approvals: Torpedo Program JV, headed by Finmeccanica. It will act as the overall Design Authority and Customer Interface for heavy and light weight torpedoes (Black Shark heavy, MU90 and A244/S […]