Fincantieri launched the Italian Navy’s second PPA Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Ship Francesco Morosini (P431) at its Riva Trigoso Shipyard (Cantiere navale di Riva Trigoso) on May 22. Francesco Morosini (P431) is the second PPA (Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura, Offshore Multipurpose Patrol Ship) vessel and is in light configuration. The vessel is named after the Venetian Doge Francesco Morosini. The Francesco Morosini was due to hit the water at the end of March but Fincantieri had to postpone the launch because of the Coronavirus crisis (during which the company stopped production at all its shipyards).
The Paolo Thaon di Revel class (also known as PPA for “Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura”) is a class of multipurpose offshore ships built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy. It is planned to replace four Soldati class light patrol frigates and eight Minerva class corvettes between 2021/2035. The Patrol ship is 133 meters long and can carry 90 crew members with additional accommodations for up to 171 members. The ship’s flexible hybrid propulsion plant features small gearbox mounted-motors for low speed operations, two propulsion diesels for mid-speed service and the LM2500+G4 gas turbine to reach more than 31 knots.
The Italian Navy ordered the new MBDA TESEO MK/2E heavy-duty missile, a long-range anti-ship missile with also strategic land attack capability. The missile will have a new terminal “head” with dual RF seeker and, presumably, date the need to even attack ground targets, Imaging IR. Compared to the predecessor OTOMAT/TESEO, the TESEO “EVO” MK/2E has a double range or more than 360 km. The armament of the ship also include the SAAM-ESD anti-aircraft missile system with 16 vertical launchers for Aster 15 and Aster 30 SAM,a 127-mm / 64 Leonardo LW main gun and a 76mm secondary gun with Strales / Davide guided ammunition, two 25-mm remote weapon systems, two 533-mm torpedo launchers.
