On 27 January, the Italian Navy offshore patrol vessel Thaon di Revel returned to her home port of La Spezia after her first operational deployment away from Italian territorial waters. The vessel was integrated into Operation AGENOR for a time during her 143 days of deployment; this is an international operation that falls within the perimeter of the European-led Maritime Situational Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASoH) initiative, which aims to safeguard the freedom of navigation and the safety of ships in transit, to detect illegal activities and ensure the completion of Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA). With the mooring at her home port, the Thaon di Revel ship’s mission officially came to an end.
In line with the concepts of flexibility, adaptability and modularity with which she was designed, in November and December the Thaon di Revel took part in Operation ORICE, the result of bilateral agreements with Qatar. The task of the Italian military is to support, together with the contingents of France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Pakistan and Turkey, the Qatari Armed Forces in the implementation of the defense and security system of the world championship. The vessel played a key role in establishing and maintaining a robust security framework during the FIFA football world championships, as well as contributing to exporting the image of professionalism and national pride abroad.
Paolo Thaon di Revel (P430) is the lead ship of Paolo Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol vessel. Paolo Thaon di Revel was laid down on 9 May 2017 at Fincantieri Muggiano and launched on 15 June 2019. Expected to be commissioned in May 2021. 15 November 2019, she underwent her first sea trial off the Gulf of La Spezia. The vessel was delivered to the Italian Navy in March, 2022. Paolo Thaon di Revel, as the lead ship of the class, is built in the “light” configuration. The first seven vessels are built with different configurations: a basic “light” variant for the patrol task, an enhanced configuration with better self-defence capacity and a “full” variant incorporating a much broader capability. The Light configuration has only gun armament.
The Thaon di Revel class (also known as PPA for ‘Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura – Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Vessel’) 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. All configuration have the option to mount TESEO “EVO” MK2/E anti-ship missile launchers. The class, designed with a high level of modularity and automation, will be delivered in a full, a light+ and a light configuration in terms of different sensors and equipments embarked and can perform multiple functions, ranging from patrol with sea rescue capacity to civil protection operations and, in its most highly equipped version, first line fighting vessel.
