The launching ceremony of the frigate “Emilio Bianchi,” the last in a series of 10 FREMM – European Multi Mission Frigates – units commissioned from Fincantieri by the Italian Navy under the Italian-French international cooperation agreement, under the coordination of OCCAR, the joint organization for European cooperation in armaments, was held today at the Riva Trigoso integrated shipyard.
Godmother of the launch was Mrs. Maria Elisabetta Bianchi, daughter of Gold Medalist for Military Valor Emilio Bianchi.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Navy’s Chief of Staff, Admiral Enrico Credendino, who was welcomed by the President of Fincantieri, General Claudio Graziano, and the General Manager of Fincantieri’s Military Ships Division, Dario Deste. Among others, the President of the Regional Council, Gianmarco Medusei, the Director of the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), Joachim Sucker, and civil and military authorities also attended.
Following the launch, the unit will continue outfitting activities at the Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia and will be delivered in 2025. “Emilio Bianchi” will be characterized, like the other FREMMs, by high deployment flexibility and will have the ability to operate in all tactical situations. It has a length of 144 meters, a width of 19.7 meters and a full load displacement of about 6,700 tons and will be able to reach a speed of more than 27 knots with a maximum capacity of about 200 embarked personnel.
In the naval defense sector, FREMM – European Multi Mission Frigate is the most important joint initiative developed among European industries. The FREMM program, which represents the state of the art in Italian and European defense, stems from the need to renew the line of Navy units, including the “Lupo” and “Maestrale” classes, built by Fincantieri in the 1970s and 1980s.
Carlo Bergamini was delivered in 2012, Virginio Fasan in 2013, Carlo Margottini in 2014, Carabiniere in 2015, Alpino in 2016, Luigi Rizzo in 2017, Federico Martinengo in 2018, Antonio Marceglia in 2019, and Spartaco Schergat currently under construction at the Muggiano factory and whose delivery is scheduled for April 2025.
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