At Euronaval 2026, Fincantieri presented NAVIS SAPIENS, the concept through which the group defines its next-generation ships: units equipped with an “electronic brain” that makes them “thinking.”

In practical terms, it is an onboard digital architecture that brings together the data from all of the ship’s systems in a single environment and allows software functions to be updated or added throughout the unit’s entire operational life. The project is developed by Fincantieri NexTech, the group’s “technology” subsidiary, through the joint venture Ingenium.

In the military sector, NAVIS SAPIENS is already planned for the Italian Navy’s new DDX destroyers. According to the press release Fincantieri issued at the contract signing on September 24, the DDX “embodies the concept of NAVIS SAPIENS.” No other units were named during the presentation, but the system could plausibly also cover the FREMM EVO frigates, the PPX patrol vessels, and units already in service as part of modernization programs.

Today, on a military ship, every system (propulsion, power, automation, sensors, weapon systems, maintenance) has its own software, from different suppliers, that does not communicate with the others. Updating it requires long and costly interventions that do not keep pace with the continuous evolution of technology and its increasingly compressed cycles. This matters even more given that a ship designed today will remain in service until 2060 and beyond.

NAVIS SAPIENS addresses exactly this issue. It works as an onboard operating system, on which applications can be installed, replaced, or updated over time without redesigning the ship.

The platform is organized in 3 layers. The first, the Foundational Digital Platform (FDP), connects the ship’s various systems and collects their data in a uniform format. The second layer hosts the applications that use that data. The third, the Fincantieri Digital Ecosystem, allows other companies to develop and integrate their own applications within the platform, depending on evolving requirements or the various MLUs (Mid-Life Upgrades).

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