Tag Archives: FREMM

Navy

The Ninth FREMM

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The launching ceremony of the «Spartaco Schergat» (F-598) frigate, the ninth of a series of 10 FREMM vessels – Multi Mission European Frigates, took place at the integrated shipyard of Riva Trigoso (Genoa). The 10 FREMM vessels have been commissioned to Fincantieri by the Italian Navy within the framework of an Italo-French cooperation program under the coordination of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).

The ninth multipurpose frigate «Spartaco Schergat» launched
The ninth multipurpose frigate «Spartaco Schergat» launched

Godmother of the ceremony was Mrs. Anna Rosa Aonzo Grillo, daughter of the Golden Medal for Military Value, Giuseppe Aonzo.

The President of Fincantieri, Giampiero Massolo, and the CEO, Giuseppe Bono, played host to Giovanni Toti, Governor of the Liguria Region, and to the Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, Admiral Valter Girardelli, in addition to a number of civil and religious authorities.

After the launching, fitting activities will continue in the Integrated naval shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia), with delivery scheduled in 2020. The «Spartaco Schergat» (F-598) vessel, like the other units, will feature a high degree of flexibility, capable of operating in all tactical situations. 472.4 feet/144 metres long with a beam of 64.6 feet/19.7 metres, the ship will have a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tonnes. The vessel will have a maximum speed of over 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h and will provide accommodation for a 200-person crew.

The FREMM program, representing the European and Italian defence state of the art, stems from the renewal need of the Italian Navy line «Lupo» (already removed) and «Maestrale» (some of them already decommissioned, the remaining close to the attainment of operational limit) class frigates, both built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.

The vessels «Carlo Bergamini» (F-590) and «Virginio Fasan» (F-591) have been delivered in 2013, the «Carlo Margottini» (F-592) in 2014, the «Carabiniere» (F-593) in 2015, the «Alpino» (F-594) in 2016, the «Luigi Rizzo» (F-595) in 2017, and the «Federico Martinengo» (F-596) in 2018. The Italian program has been fully implemented with the option exercised in April 2015, regarding the construction of the ninth and tenth vessel, whose delivery is scheduled after 2020. Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri, 49% Leonardo) acts as prime contractor for Italy in the initiative, while Armaris (Naval Group + Thales) is prime contractor for France.

This cooperation has applied the positive experience gained in the previous Italo-French program «Orizzonte» that has led to the construction for the Italian Navy of the two frigates «Andrea Doria» and «Caio Duilio».

 

Main Characteristics

Length overall 472.4 feet/144 m
Width 64.6 feet/19.7 m
Depth (main deck) 37 feet/11.3 m
Displacement 6,700 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Crew 145 people
Accommodation Up to 200 men and women
CODLAG PROPULSION SYSTEM
Avio-GE LM2500+G4 32 MW
Electric propulsion motors 2 × 2,5 MW
Diesel Generator (DG) sets 4 × 2,1 MW
Propellers 2 × Controllable-Pitch Propeller (CPP)
Endurance 45 days
Range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h 6,000 NM/6,905 miles/11,112 km
COMBAT SYSTEM
Anti-Air Warfare (AAW)/ Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) Capabilities
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Defence
Electronic Warfare (EW) Capabilities

 

Navy

Fifth FREMM

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According to Defense-aerospace.com, a new multi-mission frigate, in anti-submarine version, has joined the ranks of the Navy. Very versatile, stealthy and with a strike capability that is unique in Europe, the FREMMs are the backbone of the surface fleet in the different fields of naval combat.

France receives Bretagne, its fifth FREMM frigate
France receives Bretagne, its fifth FREMM frigate

On 18 July 2018, the Directorate-General for Armaments (DGA) received the frigate Bretagne, the 5th multi-mission frigate (FREMM) for the French Navy. The FREMM program is conducted within the Joint Organization for Cooperation on Armament Programs (OCCAR), in cooperation with Italy.

The program allows the renewal of the frigate component of the surface navy, with eight major vessels that will form the backbone of the surface fleet. The FREMMs, designed, developed and maintained by Naval Group, are the only Western European frigates to be armed with naval cruise missiles.

The 2019-2025 military program law provides for the delivery of the sixth anti-submarine frigate (Normandy) in 2019 and the last two ships of the series (Alsace and Lorraine), with enhanced air defense capabilities, in 2021 and 2022. It also provides for the strengthening of naval forces with the entry into service by 2025 of the first 2 frigates of intermediate size (FTI) and the refit and modernization of three La Fayette-class frigates.

The FREMM, crewed by 105 sailors, all highly qualified men and women, is a stealthy ship, multi-mission, enduring and flexible of use, and equipped with advanced automatisms. In its anti-submarine warfare version, its main mission is the control of an area of maritime operation, on the surface and under the sea, as well as long-range precision strike with the naval cruise missile (MdCN), and support for deployed and power projection operations.

Its weapon system includes the Caiman Marine, a multi-role combat helicopter with a particularly advanced anti-submarine capability. The FREMM-Cayman pair represents a leap in the field of submarine warfare. The FREMM is also equipped with the ECUME, the new tactical boat used by marine commandos.

Until 2022, the completion of the FREMM program will be a very significant part of the activity of Naval Group on its site in Lorient and that of many subcontractors, mainly SMEs.

The 2019-2025 Military Program Law, which was promulgated on July 13, 2018, provides for an accelerated effort to modernize the equipment of the armed forces.

 

Characteristics

Overall length 142 m/466 feet
Width 20 m/65.6 feet
Displacement 6,000 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Range 6,000 NM/6,905 miles/11,112 km at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h
Implementation 108 persons (including the helicopter detachment)
Accommodation capacity 145 persons

 

Navy

Auvergne commissioned

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According to Defense-aerospace.com, on February 14, 2018, the Chief of the Naval Staff admitted to active service D654 Auvergne, the 4th multi-mission frigate (FREMM). Now declared fit for combat by the Navy, she joins D650 Aquitaine, D652 Provence and D653 Languedoc, her three sister-ships in the FREMM class.

The D654 Auvergne after its commissioning. Under current plans, the French navy will have received six FREMM frigates in anti-submarine configuration by 2019. Another three will follow by 2022, two of them with enhanced anti-air capabilities (French navy photo)
The D654 Auvergne after its commissioning. Under current plans, the French navy will have received six FREMM frigates in anti-submarine configuration by 2019. Another three will follow by 2022, two of them with enhanced anti-air capabilities (French navy photo)

This admission is the culmination of a process of verification of the ship’s military capabilities. In 2017, D654 Auvergne was deployed for more than four months in diversified areas of operations: the Mediterranean Sea, the China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean.

This deployment was marked by its integration into Task Force 50, formed around the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68), and the Combined Task Force 150, the multinational naval force fighting against illicit trafficking. D654 Auvergne also helped show France’s commitment to respect for international law and the freedom of navigation, particularly in the China Sea.

D654 Auvergne confirmed the already recognized qualities of the FREMM-class as modern, versatile, enduring and flexible vessels. They meet the needs of maritime rescue missions, the gathering of information in all three dimensions, and the requirements of high-intensity conflicts: control of a zone of air-sea operations, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-air missions, and support of projection operations, command of a national or combined naval air force, etc.

Two major assets are worth highlighting: the ability that France now has to strike accurately from the sea and in depth, with the MdCN naval cruise missile, and its unequaled performance in anti-submarine warfare, thanks to the alliance of the ship’s hull-mounted sonars and her embarked (NH90) Cayman helicopter.

With this fourth FREMM frigate, the French Navy reinforces its ability to ensure France’s security, both in its own waters and on the high seas.

The future LPM multi-year funding law confirms the importance of first-rank frigates that contribute to all strategic functions. Thus, to reach the target of 15 frigates of first rank, four intermediate-size frigates (FTI) will be ordered and two delivered by 2025.

The last four FREMMs will have been delivered in 2025, the final two with enhanced air defense capabilities.

 

Characteristics

Total length 466 feet/142 m
Width 65.6 feet/20 m
Displacement 6,000 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Operation 108 persons (including helicopter detachment)
Accommodation capacity 145 men and women
Cruising range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h 6,000 nautical miles/6,905 miles/11,112 km

 

Navy

Multi-mission frigate

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On 1 February 2018, Naval Group floated the FREMM multi-mission frigate D656 Normandie, just 12 months after the start of hull assembly in the building dock on the Lorient site. The completion of this milestone represents an important step, demonstrating the industrial and technological mastery of Naval Group, ensuring compliance with a very tight schedule to be able to deliver, as foreseen, six of the FREMMs ordered by OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation) on behalf of the DGA (French Defence Procurement Agency – Direction Générale de l’Armement) to the French Navy before the end of 2019.

Floating out of the eighth FREMM frigate, D656 Normandie: Naval Group reaches its objectives
Floating out of the eighth FREMM frigate, D656 Normandie: Naval Group reaches its objectives

The eighth FREMM frigate to be built in Lorient and the sixth in the series ordered by OCCAR on behalf of the DGA for the French Navy, the FREMM D656 Normandie was taken out of its building dock in Lorient where it was assembled on time: just 12.5 months since the first block was positioned on the keel block line.

«This floating out was a real scheduling challenge to fulfil our commitment to deliver 6 anti-submarine FREMMs to the French Navy by 2019, as planned in the Military Programming Law 2014-2019. A challenge that has been successfully overcome thanks to the determination and know-how of the group’s teams, combined with an organisation developed on the basis of the feedback gathered from the previous ships», recalls Nicolas Gaspard, director of the FREMM program.

It is in autumn that the D656 Normandie will leave the dry dock to undergo its first sea trials before delivery to the French Navy, foreseen in summer 2019.

The timely completion of the floating out milestone strengthens Naval Group’s capacity to maintain the fast pace of series production for this major programme. Six FREMM frigates were already delivered between 2012 and 2017. The D650 Aquitaine in 2012, the D652 Provence in 2015, the D653 Languedoc in 2016 and last but not least the D654 Auvergne in April 2017. On the international market, Morocco took delivery of the Mohammed VI in 2014 and Egypt took delivery of the Tahya Misr in 2015.

The FREMM D656 Bretagne, floated in September 2016, will be transferred to Brest, where it will be based, in the second quarter 2018. The two final frigates, D657 Alsace and D658 Lorraine, will be delivered to the French Navy before the end of 2022. These frigates will be equipped with strengthened air defence capacities (FR‑AAW). The assembly of the FREMM D657 Alsace in the D658 Lorient building dock will start in spring 2018.

 

FREMM technical characteristics

Heavily armed, the FREMM D656 Normandie deploys as its sister ships the most effective weapon systems and equipment, such as the Herakles multifunction radar, the naval cruise missile (MdCN), the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles or the MU 90 torpedoes.

 

Characteristics

Overall length 142 m/466 feet
Width 20 m/65.6 feet
Displacement 6,000 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Range 6,000 NM/6,905 miles/11,112 km at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h
Implementation 108 persons (including the helicopter detachment)
Accommodation capacity 145 persons

 

Navy

Multi-mission frigate

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On 11 April in Toulon, DCNS delivered the FREMM multi-mission frigate D654 Auvergne to the French Navy, as stipulated in the contract. This frigate is the fourth of the series ordered by OCCAR (L’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d’Armement) on behalf of the DGA (French armament procurement agency).

Under the project management of DCNS, the heavily-armed FREMM frigates are equipped with the most effective weapon systems and equipment, such as the Herakles multifunctional radar, the naval cruise missile, the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles and the MU 90 torpedoes
Under the project management of DCNS, the heavily-armed FREMM frigates are equipped with the most effective weapon systems and equipment, such as the Herakles multifunctional radar, the naval cruise missile, the Aster and Exocet MM 40 missiles and the MU 90 torpedoes

Delivery of the FREMM multi-mission frigate D654 Auvergne is the result of a design and construction process managed by DCNS in close cooperation with the French Navy, DGA and OCCAR teams.

This technological and industrial success employed many DCNS sites and its partners and subcontractors to ensure compliance with the industrial milestones, in particular the launching in September 2015 and the first sea outing in September 2016.

«The delivery of the FREMM Auvergne represents an opportunity to applaud the industrial and technological prowess of DCNS and its subcontractors. The frigate Auvergne illustrates our capacity to produce and deliver on time a series of front-line combat vessels to satisfy the needs of our client navies», indicates Nicolas Gaspard, director of the FREMM programme at DCNS.

On completion, the FREMM programme will represent the construction of ten vessels on the DCNS Lorient site, of which eight for the French Navy. Six FREMM would have been delivered to the French Navy before end of 2019, in accordance with the 2014-2019 military programming law. DCNS is currently completing the FREMM D655 Bretagne, which was floated on 16 September 2016, and is pursuing the assembly of the FREMM D656 Normandie. Furthermore, work has already started on the ninth FREMM in the series, the D657 Alsace, which will be one of the two FREMMs with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities, whose deliveries are scheduled before 2022.

 

Characteristics

Total length 466 feet/142 m
Width 65.6 feet/20 m
Displacement 6,000 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Operation 108 persons (including helicopter detachment)
Accommodation capacity 145 men and women
Cruising range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h 6,000 nautical miles/6,905 miles/11,112 km

 

Navy

The launching of FREMM

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The launching ceremony of the «Federico Martinengo» (F596) frigate, the seventh of a series of 10 FREMM vessels – Multi Mission European Frigates – took place today at the Riva Trigoso shipyard (Genoa). The 10 FREMM vessels have been commissioned to Fincantieri by the Italian Navy within the framework of an Italo-French cooperation program under the coordination of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).

The seventh Multipurpose Frigate «Federico Martinengo» launched
The seventh Multipurpose Frigate «Federico Martinengo» launched

Godmother of the ceremony was Mrs. Mina De Caro, widow of Giuseppe Porcelli, Commander of the «Scirocco» frigate, who lost his life in 1997 during operational activities held within NATO naval forces in the Mediterranean.

The ceremony was attended, among others by Gen. Claudio Graziano, Chief of Defence, Adm. Valter Girardelli, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, Giovanni Toti, Governor of the Liguria Region, and Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.

After the launching, fitting activities will continue in the Integrated naval shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia), with delivery scheduled in early 2018. The «Federico Martinengo» (F596) vessel, like the other units, will feature a high degree of flexibility, capable of operating in all tactical situations. 144 meters/472.4 feet long with a beam of 19.7 meters/64.6 feet, the ship will have a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tonnes. The «Federico Martinengo» (F596) will have a maximum speed of over 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h and will provide accommodation for a 200-person crew.

The FREMM program, representing the European and Italian defence state of the art, stems from the renewal need of the Italian Navy line «Lupo» (already removed) and «Maestrale» (close to the attainment of operational limit) class frigates, both built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.

The vessels «Carlo Bergamini» (F590) and «Virginio Fasan» (F591) have been delivered in 2013, the «Carlo Margottini» (F592) in 2014, the «Carabiniere» (F593) in 2015 and the «Alpino» (F594) in 2016. The Italian program has been fully implemented with the option exercised in April 2015, regarding the construction of the ninth and tenth vessel, whose delivery is scheduled after 2020.

Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri, 49% Finmeccanica) acts as prime contractor for Italy in the initiative, while Armaris (DCNS + Thales) is prime contractor for France.

This cooperation has applied the positive experience gained in the previous Italo-French program «Orizzonte» that has led to the construction for the Italian Navy of the two frigates «Andrea Doria» and «Caio Duilio».

 

Main Characteristics

Length overall 472.4 feet/144 m
Width 64.6 feet/19.7 m
Depth (main deck) 37 feet/11.3 m
Displacement 6700 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Crew 145 people
Accommodation Up to 200 men and women
CODLAG PROPULSION SYSTEM
Avio-GE LM2500+G4 32 MW
Electric propulsion motors 2 × 2,5 MW
Diesel Generator (DG) sets 4 × 2,1 MW
Propellers 2 × Controllable-Pitch Propeller (CPP)
Endurance 45 days
Range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h 6,000 NM/6,905 miles/11,112 km
COMBAT SYSTEM
Anti-Air Warfare (AAW)/ Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) Capabilities
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Defence
Electronic Warfare (EW) Capabilities

 

Navy

First launch of Aster

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On November 22, at the Salto di Quirra joint armed forces test range, the Italian Navy has successfully conducted from Italian FREMM frigate Carlo Bergamini (F590) the first live firing of an Aster 30 missile with a telemetry head, as part of the qualification programme for the surface-to-air extended self defence system (SAAM ESD, Surface to Air Anti Missile System Extended Self Defence).

Aster 30 missile
Aster 30 missile

With the SAAM ESD system, the firing ship is able to both protect itself (self-defence) and other consort ships.

The firing was completed in full accordance with the established plan. All the launch phases were accomplished according to expectations. The successful firing confirms the excellent team work established and developed in perfect synergy between the Italian Navy and the industry.

This test is one of the most relevant technical/experimental trials that the Italian Navy has carried out within the Salto di Quirra test range, and a very important activity that will support the high-tech national industry, also in the export markets. This event represents also the re-entry into service, after 4 years, of the Sardinian test range, fully compliant with the most updated environmental safety requirements.

The missile system, produced by MBDA, is composed of an AGIS Command and Control System, an active Multi-Function Radar for searching, tracking, detection and missile guidance, together with 2 Sylver A-50 vertical launch firing modules.

The SAAM ESD qualification plan is expected to be completed with a follow-on live firing planned for April 2017, when the anti-air warfare complex will be managed seamlessly integrated with the FREMM’s CMS (Combat Management System).

 

CHARACTERISTICS ASTER 30

Weight 948 lbs/430 kg
Length 16 feet/4.9 m
Diameter 7 inch/180 mm
Altitude 65,617 feet/20,000 m
Range In excess of 65 NM/75 miles/120 km
Maximum speed Mach 4.5
Propulsion Solid propellant, two-stage propulsion

 

Navy

Alpino delivered
to the Navy

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On September 30, the frigate «Alpino» (F594) was delivered at the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard. It is the fifth vessel of the FREMM program – Multi Mission European Frigates – commissioned to Fincantieri within the international Italian-French program, coordinated by OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri and 49% Finmeccanica) is the prime contractor for Italy in the FREMM program, which envisions the construction of 10 units, all already ordered.

Alpino (F594), the latest FREMM multipurpose frigate built by the Fincantieri group, tied up alongside at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard before its official handover to the Italian navy (Fincantieri photo)
Alpino (F594), the latest FREMM multipurpose frigate built by the Fincantieri group, tied up alongside at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard before its official handover to the Italian navy (Fincantieri photo)

«Alpino» (F594) is the fifth FREMM unit built by Fincantieri and delivered to the Italian Navy including the combat system, the fourth with the ASW – Anti Submarine Warfare configuration, that is the ability of silent navigation speed in significant anti-submarine hunting.

472-foot/144-meter long and with a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tonnes, the FREMM frigates represent technological excellence: designed to reach a maximum speed of 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h and to provide accommodation for 200 people (crew and staff), these vessels are able to always guarantee a high degree of flexibility and to operate in a wide range of scenarios and tactical situations.

The program, coordinated by OCCAR, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, faces the need for the renewal of the Italian Navy’s Lupo (disarment completed in 2003) and Maestrale (close in reaching its operational life limit) class units.

These units significantly contribute to the development of the tasks assigned to the Italian Navy, being able to operate in various sectors: anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-naval warfare, fire support from the sea as well as an organic helicopter component embarked. The FREMM units are set to become the backbone of the Italian Navy over the next decades.

 

Technical characteristics

Overall length 472 feet/144 m
Length between perpendiculars 423 feet/128.9 m
Breadth moulded 64.6 feet/19.7 m
Depth (main deck) 37 feet/11.3 m
Full load displacement at delivery (fld) abt. 6,700 tonnes
Growth margin 4%-abt. 230 tonnes
Crew + extra personnel 145 + 20
Maximum speed >27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Endurance 45 days
Range 6,000 NM/11,112 km at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h
CODLAG PROPULSION SYSTEM
Avio-GE LM2500 + G4 32 MW
Electric propulsion motors 2 × 2,5 MW
DG (Diesel Generator) sets 4 × 2,1 MW
CPP (Controllable Pitch Propellers) 2

 

Navy

DCNS floated Bretagne

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On 16 September 2016, DCNS floated the FREMM multi-mission frigate Bretagne in Lorient, France. The achievement of this industrial milestone marks an important step in the construction of the vessel. It once again underlines the dynamism of DCNS and its capacity to deliver six FREMM frigates to the French Navy before mid-2019, in accordance with the Military Programming Law 2014-2019.

DCNS floats a new FREMM Frigate
DCNS floats a new FREMM Frigate

DCNS has now floated the FREMM Bretagne on its Lorient site, the seventh frigate in the programme and fifth in the series ordered by OCCAR (L’Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d’Armement) on behalf of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) for the French Navy.

This floating, six months after the delivery of the FREMM Languedoc on 16 March 2016, demonstrates DCNS’s capacity to carry out efficient series production, ensuring that it can deliver six frigates to the French Navy before mid-2019.

The FREMM programme is advancing rapidly. Five FREMM frigates were already delivered between 2012 and 2015: three for the French Navy and two for international clients, the Royal Moroccan Navy and the Egyptian Navy.

Three FREMM frigates and one Gowind corvette are currently under construction and at different completion stages at the DCNS site of Lorient:

  • FREMM Auvergne, which will start sea trials at the end of September 2016.
  • FREMM Bretagne, floated today.
  • FREMM Normandie, for which assembling is about to start.
  • The first Gowind corvette, floated on 17 September 2016.

For DCNS, the completion of the FREMM programme will represent the construction of ten frigates, eight of them for the French Navy. In addition to the six frigates to be delivered by 2019, there will be two further frigates with strengthened anti-air capacities which will be delivered before end 2022.

 

Characteristics

Total length 466 feet/142 m
Width 65.6 feet/20 m
Displacement 6,000 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Operation 108 persons (including helicopter detachment)
Accommodation capacity 145 men and women
Cruising range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h 6,000 nautical miles/6,905 miles/11,112 km

 

Navy

Luigi Rizzo
begins sea trials

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On May 17, ITS Luigi Rizzo cast off at 7.20 a.m. from Fincantieri shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia) for her first sea outing. This activity marks the beginning of the programme of sea trials which will continue until the completion of the ship’s outfitting phase. The FREMM frigate is scheduled to be delivered to the Italian Navy in early 2017.

The Italian Navy’s sixth FREMM-class frigate, ITS Luigi Rizzo, sails from Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard on her initial sea trials (IT Navy photo)
The Italian Navy’s sixth FREMM-class frigate, ITS Luigi Rizzo, sails from Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard on her initial sea trials (IT Navy photo)

The ship had on board Vice-Admiral Donato Marzano, Italian Navy Logistic Commander and Chairman of the Naval Ship Acceptance Commission, personnel from Marinalles New Ships Outfitting and Testing Navy Centre, representatives from technical organisations involved in testing activities, and some of future crew members.

ITS Luigi Rizzo – the sixth new-generation frigate commissioned by the Italian Navy within the framework of the FREMM (European Multimission Frigate) Italo-French Programme, and second in General Purpose (GP) version – is characterised by high flexibility and is designed to cover a variety of operational deployments. Laid down on March 5 2013, it was launched on December 19 2015 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Riva Trigoso (Genoa).

Thanks to their command and control capabilities and logistic autonomy, FREMM frigates will be able to provide patrol service (presence and surveillance) and to conduct activities related to monitoring of migration flows and shipping control, as well as counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations. Moreover, their prominent dual use capabilities will allow for their deployment on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, including civil protection and support for cultural heritage.

FREMM-IT will replace the Maestrale and Lupo frigates in service with the Italian Navy
FREMM-IT will replace the Maestrale and Lupo frigates in service with the Italian Navy

 

Main Characteristics

Length overall 472.4 feet/144 m
Width 64.6 feet/19.7 m
Depth (main deck) 37 feet/11.3 m
Displacement 6700 tonnes
Maximum speed 27 knots/31 mph/50 km/h
Crew 145 people
Accommodation Up to 200 men and women
CODLAG PROPULSION SYSTEM
Avio-GE LM2500+G4 32 MW
Electric propulsion motors 2 × 2,5 MW
Diesel Generator (DG) sets 4 × 2,1 MW
Propellers 2 × Controllable-Pitch Propeller (CPP)
Endurance 45 days
Range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h 6,000 NM/6,905 miles/11,112 km
COMBAT SYSTEM
Anti-Air Warfare (AAW)/ Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) Capabilities
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Defence
Electronic Warfare (EW) Capabilities