Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has cut the first steel to be used in the construction of a new multi-purpose offshore patrol vessel (pattugliatore polivalente d'altura; PPA) of the Italian Navy.
The ship will be the eighth Thaon di Revel-class PPA to be built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy. Like her sisters, she will be used for a range of missions including patrols, civil protection, and search and rescue.
Upon completion, the ship will have an LOA of 143 metres, a beam of 16.5 metres, a draught of 10.5 metres, accommodation for 135 crewmembers, and deck space for an 11-metre-long rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that the crew can use for at-sea interceptions and boardings. The RIB will be deployed into and recovered from the water via davits or a stern ramp.
The PPA will be capable of dealing with surface, subsurface, and airborne threats. Her armament will include 76mm and 127mm naval guns, a 25mm close-range defence autocannon, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship/land attack missiles, and torpedoes.
Leonardo-Finmeccanica will provide the ship with an array of guidance systems, a combat management system, radars, a cockpit-style integrated navigation management system that can be operated by only two crewmembers, an infrared search and track sensor, a fire control system, an advanced sonar that can detect divers and underwater saboteurs.
Aviation facilities will be available for either two NH90 or one AW101 utility helicopter.
Variants of the Thaon di Revel-class PPAs have also been delivered to the Indonesian Navy.