Italian Navy’s second multipurpose offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura (PPA) in Italian), Francesco Morosini is launched today(May 22) with a ceremony held at the Fincantieri’s Riva Trigoso shipyard.
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. A class of seven multi-role offshore patrol vessels (Pattugliatori Polivalenti d’Altura (PPA)) on order for the Italian Navy will be delivered by 2026.
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 equipment 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.
The 132.5-meter long ship will be crewed by 171 persons and achieve speeds of over 31 knots.
The first ship of its class “Paolo Thaon di Revel” started sea trials on November 19, 2019. The first PPA will be delivered in 2021, while deliveries of the remaining vessels are scheduled to take place between 2022 and 2026.
The Francesco Morosini was due to launch at the end of March but Fincantieri had to postpone the launch because of the Coronavirus.
