Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger has similarly argued that Europe needs faster cross-border consolidation to compete globally.

Fincantieri is already involved in one project to better coordinate European defense companies, the European Patrol Corvette — an initiative to build a modular, multi-role naval vessel. The Italian shipbuilder is collaborating with Spain’s Navantia and France’s Naval Group to design and build prototypes.

“It’s clear that the more you share them [the platforms], the better,” Folgiero said.

The company’s argument comes as European defense firms benefit from the rearmament boom.

Fincantieri, along with many other European companies with a significant presence in the defense market, has seen its income surge. Last year, it posted €9.2 billion in revenues, up 13 percent from 2024, and a best-ever net profit of €117 million, over four times higher than in 2024 — on the back of strong performances in both its military and civilian branches.

Part of the EU’s effort to encourage a common defense market is a push for member countries to jointly procure weapons systems, something encouraged by the €150 billion loans-for-weapons Security Action for Europe program. SAFE and other similar EU defense schemes set a 35 percent cap on the participation of non-member countries in the final value of procured weapons systems, which has annoyed the U.S.