Fincantieri and Leonardo’s Orizzonte Sistemi Navali joint venture has delivered the ninth European multi-purpose frigate (FREMM) to the Italian Navy.
The Spartaco Schergat (F598) will be homeported in La Spezia, from which it will undertake general-purpose and anti-submarine warfare missions for a “balanced” contribution throughout all combat domains.
Compared to the first eight FREMMs, the new vessel will have enhanced capabilities for modern sea control, maritime communications line protection, and naval interdiction challenges.
After the Schergat’s induction, another FREMM platform with a hybrid counter-surface and undersea solution is expected to arrive in August 2025.
Meanwhile, two more unnamed vessels in a next-generation FREMM configuration are scheduled to enter service by the 2030s. Construction of these ships began in early April.
The FREMM Frigate
The Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate measures 145 meters (476 feet) long and can carry up to 200 personnel.
It is fitted with an active electronically scanned array radar, hull and towed sonars, naval and acoustic guns, autocannons, torpedoes, and anti-ship and aerial missiles.
The vessel is designed to accommodate two maritime helicopters similar to the SH90 rotorcraft, as well as a rigid hull inflatable boat.
Ships under the FREMM class each sail with a gas turbine, two electric motors, and four diesel generators for a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 kilometers/6,905 miles) and speed over 30 knots (56 kilometers/35 miles per hour).
Aside from Italy, the FREMM design is employed by militaries in France, Egypt, and Morocco.
