Posted on 05/03/2018 8:42:01 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The Italian Navy has sent a Fremm frigate, ITS Alpino, on a two-month cruise of North America intended to promote the ship’s design as a leading candidate in the US Navy’s FF(X) future frigate competition. (IT Navy photo)
Today, the Italian Navy’s European multi-mission frigate (FREMM) ITS Alpino sailed from the Mar Grande naval base in Taranto for a naval campaign that will take it to North America for the next two months.
ITS Alpino is the fifth FREMM ship delivered to the Italian Navy on 30 September 2016, the fourth in the "anti-submarine" version and fitted out with state-of-the-art and latest-generation technological systems.
This overseas campaign -- the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the direction of the American continent, the confrontation with friendly and allied navies -- constitutes a valuable opportunity for training, to maintain high levels of readiness, and to strengthen relations with allied trans-regional authorities. ITS Alpino will return to Italy after about two months.
A naval campaign that can be considered strategic both for the possibility of projecting abroad the image of the Navy, of the Armed Forces and of the national system, and for the support provided to the international competitiveness of important national entities.
ITS Alpino will be a qualified and technologically-relevant presence in several countries with which Italy maintains important political-diplomatic relations. Economic and military cooperation activities, and the activities that will be carried out, are more generally part of the institutional tasks that the Navy provides for our country and our community, without interruption, in all areas of our strategic interest, thus ensuring a permanent naval presence aimed at sea-control, security of Sea lines of communication (SLOC), supervision of national maritime activities, deterrence and combating illegal activities on the high seas, international cooperation and training.
A campaign that can be considered relevant both for the possibility of projecting the image of the Navy, the Armed Forces and the country system in areas of unusual gravitation and for the support provided to the international competitiveness of important national realities.
In this context, there is also the important activity aimed at showing and making known the Unit's operational capabilities to delegations composed of members of the United States Congress and US Navy officers as part of the information process for the definition by the US Navy of a new class of frigates (US acquisition program called Future Frigate Program FFG (X)) designed to fill the capability gap between the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Arleigh Burke-class DDGs.
This initiative of maritime projection and naval diplomacy is part of the broader project that aims to "make system" by integrating the operational capabilities of the crew with modern Italian manufacturing systems embarked on the ITS Alpino, built by the Fincantieri shipyard group which is the sole sponsor and partner of this campaign.
The overseas presence is also an opportunity to meet the numerous Italian communities residing abroad, and includes organizing cultural events and promoting the image of Italy and its excellence.
-ends-
Not a very flattering photo.
The jokes write themselves.
I think its design was heavily influenced by the French and its is supposed give the appearance of charging toward the battle zone when in fact it is actually mounting a hasty retreat.
No guns?
Why would you name a ship after a Mountain range? It makes as much sense as the U.S.S. Appalachians, with apologies to the U.S.S. Iowa.
Embarassing
I would not, under nearly any circumstances, consider any Italian design for any front line US warfighting equipment. (with very few exceptions)
What is that old joke about the ideal world?
Heaven:
The police are British
The cooks are French
The administrators are Swiss
The lovers are Italian
The engineers are German
Hell:
The police are German
The cooks are British
The administrators are French
The lovers are Swiss
The engineers are Italian
In any case, an unattractive ship. The Italians once had a reputation for nice looking vessels and cars, but anyone who has ever had to work on a Fiat knows...functional engineering isn’t their national strong point!!!!
No mountains in Iowa that I know of.
Jeez, what a butt-ugly boat.
Bow section looks like a 1980’s Boston Whaler
While smaller than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, it's also one third the price and half the crew size.
The Italian and French ships use a common hull but different sensors/propulsion and weapons combinations. The Italian design is considered as the more ‘effective’ design given its larger size and capacity to take 2 helicopters.
It is about as far from the ocean as you can get in the U.S.
I saw one gun towards the bow. Only one? No way to support landings, no way to repel boarders. One lousy gun and it calls it self a warship! Plus it doesn’t look all that big
I saw one gun towards the bow. Only one? No way to support landings, no way to repel boarders. One lousy gun and it calls it self a warship! Plus it doesn’t look all that big
Maybe it’s fast...?
I didn’t realize Fettuccine Alpino was named after a ship.
“Not a very flattering photo.”
“...does this picture make my stern look too big?”
They also have a pair of 25 mm cannon, firing explosive shells at 600 rounds/min, which will ruin a small boat real fast
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.