The launching ceremony of the “Emilio Bianchi” frigate took place today at the integrated shipyard in Riva Trigoso, the last of a series of 10 FREMM units – European Multi Mission Frigates, commissioned to Fincantieri by the Italian Navy as part of the The Italian-French international cooperation agreement, with the coordination of OCCAR, the joint organization for European cooperation in the field of armaments.
Godmother of the launch was Mrs. Maria Elisabetta Bianchi, daughter of the Gold Medal for Military Valor Emilio Bianchi.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Team Admiral Enrico Credendino, welcomed by the President of Fincantieri, General Claudio Graziano, and by the General Director of the Fincantieri Military Ships Division, Dario Deste. Also participating, among others, were the President of the Regional Council, Gianmarco Medusei, the Director of the Joint Organization for Armaments Cooperation (OCCAR), Joachim Sucker, and the civil and military authorities.
Following the launch, the unit will continue construction activities at the Muggiano shipyard, in La Spezia, and will be delivered in the summer of 2025. The “Emilio Bianchi” ship will be characterized, like the other FREMMs, by high flexibility of use and will have the ability to operate in all tactical situations. She has a length of 144 meters, a width of 19.7 meters and a full load displacement of approximately 6,700 tons and will be able to reach a speed of over 27 knots with a maximum capacity of approximately 200 people on board.
In the naval defense sector, FREMM – European Multi Mission Frigate is the most important joint initiative developed between European industries. The FREMM programme, which represents the state of the art of Italian and European defence, was born from the need to renew the line of Navy units, including the “Lupo” and “Maestrale” classes, built by Fincantieri in the seventies and Eighty.
It was delivered in 2012 Carlo Bergaminiin 2013 Virginio Fasanin 2014 Carlo Margottiniin 2015 Carabinierein 2016 Alpinein 2017 Luigi Rizzoin 2018 Federico Martinengoin 2019 Antonio Marceglia and in November 2023 the Spartacus Schergat currently in the advanced preparation phase at the integrated shipyard’s factories and whose delivery is scheduled for April 2025.
The Constellation program in the United States
In the United States the US Department of Defense awarded to the American subsidiary of Fincantieri, Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), the contract, worth over 1 billion dollars, for the construction of the fifth and sixth frigates of the “Constellation” class, destined for the US Navy.
The contract for the first frigate and the option for 9 additional ships, signed in 2020, has a total value of approximately $5.5 billion and includes after-sales support and crew training.
In this very prestigious tender, Fincantieri managed to impose itself on its US competitors thanks to a project judged to be the most advanced and innovative. The Group’s proposal, in fact, is based on the FREMM frigate platform, considered the best in the world from a technological point of view, on which a program of ten units for the Italian Navy is based, which the Group is currently completing in the Italian shipyards.
The construction of the first frigate, the future USS Constellation, is currently underway at the shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, which has recently undergone a major investment program for improvements and upgrades at an infrastructural level.
FMM represents the spearhead of Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG), which controls two other sites also in the Great Lakes region (Wisconsin) – Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Fincantieri Ace Marine – and includes commercial and government clients. FMM is also involved in the Littoral Combat Ships programs, also for the US Navy, and Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC), for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the United States Foreign Military Sales plan.
Source and photo @Fincantieri
