Today, the delivery of the third Multipurpose Offshore Patrol ship (PPA) “Raimondo Montecuccoli” took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano. The ceremony was attended, among others, by Vice Admiral Antonio Natale, Commandant of the Navy Schools and Institutes, Emanuele Coletti, Deputy Director of Naval Armaments – NAVARM and Mr. Joachim Sucker, OCCAR Director, welcomed by the General Manager of the Naval Vessels Division Dario Deste. This vessel is part of the renewal plan of the operational lines of the Italian Navy vessels, approved by the Government and Parliament and started in May 2015 (“Naval Act”) under the aegis of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).
Raimondo Montecuccoli, from Modena, was a general in service within the Austrian Empire. He participated with great success in all the wars fought in Europe – between 1625 and 1675 – by the Habsburg monarchy against the Dutch, Swedes, Turks and French. Initiated to a career in the church, he instead chose the military career with determination, serving the Empire and standing out in several campaigns during the Thirty Years’ War. From 1648, he held a series of very important diplomatic positions in Italy and Europe. At the peak of his career, he became the rank of General Lieutenant of the Empire (1609-1681). He was a man with a unique culture, a very successful military writer, and was mentioned by Ugo Foscolo as the greatest and most learned Italian men at arms.
The multipurpose offshore patrol vessel is a highly flexible ship with the capacity to serve multiple functions, ranging from patrol with sea rescue capacity to Civil Protection operations and, in its most highly equipped version, first line fighting vessel. There will be indeed different configurations of combat system: starting from a “soft” version for the patrol task, integrated for self-defence ability, to a “full” one, equipped for a complete defence ability. The vessel is also capable of operating high-speed vessels such as RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) up to 11 meters long through lateral cranes or a hauling ramp located at the far stern. The Multipurpose Offshore Patrol ships will be built at the Integrated Shipyard of Riva Trigoso and Muggiano, with deliveries expected until 2026.
Feature
133 meters long
Speed more than 31 knots according to vessel configuration and operational conditions
171 persons of the crew
Equipped with a combined diesel, a gas turbine plant (CODAG) and an electric propulsion system
Capacity to supply drinking water to land
