Italian Navy receives fourth FREMM frigate
30 April 2015
The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its fourth vessel, Carabiniere, from Orizzonte Sistemi Navali as part of the the multi-mission European frigates (FREMM) programme.
Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, a joint venture between Fincantieri and Finmeccanica, is the prime contractor for Italy within the international Italian and French FREMM programme.
This fourth FREMM unit is the third vessel to feature an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) configuration. ASW increases the frigate's ability to operate with silent navigation during significant anti-submarine hunting missions.
The 144m-long vessel has a displacement at full-load of approximately 6,700t, and a cruising speed of 27k
Designed to operate in a wide range of scenarios and tactical situations, the vessel will be able to provide accommodation for 200 people, including crew and staff.
The FREMM multi-mission ship programme is part of a major cooperation agreement between France and Italy.
Italy will receive the vessels in an anti-submarine warfare model and a general-purpose vehicle version.
In addition, Orizzonte Sistemi Navali has also received an order from OCCAR, the organisation for joint armament cooperation, to construct the ninth and tenth FREMM frigates.
Valued at €764m, this order will mark the completion of a contract awarded for the supply of ten vessels to the navy.
The new vessels are expected to be delivered after 2020 and will replace the Lupo and Maestrale-class frigates built by Fincantieri in the 1970s.
Italian Navy receives fourth FREMM frigate - Naval Technology
Press Release from FINCANTIERI :
FREMM "CARABINIERE" DELIVERED TO THE ITALIAN NAVY
Trieste, 28 April 2015 – The frigate “Carabiniere” was delivered today at the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard. It is the fourth 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 building of 10 units, all already ordered.
The ship has been named “Carabiniere” to celebrate in 2014, year of the launching, the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Italian Carabinieri Force.
“Carabiniere” is the fourth FREMM unit which Fincantieri builds and delivers to the Italian Navy completed with a combat system (the third with the ASW – Anti Submarine Warfare configuration), that is the ability of silent navigation speed in significant anti-submarine hunting.
144 meters long and 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 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 faces the fleet renewal need of the Italian Navy’s units of the class frigates Lupo (disarment completed in 2003) and Maestrale (close in reaching its operational life limit). It is coordinated by OCCAR, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation.
These units significantly contribute to 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 of the next decades.