Yesterday at the Riva Trigoso (Genoa) plant the launch of the Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Boat (PPA) “Marcantonio Colonna”, the fifth of seven units that will all be built at the Integrated Shipyard of Riva Trigoso and Muggiano with deliveries scheduled until 2026.
The PPAs are part of the plan to renew the operational lines of the naval units of the Navy, decided by the Government and Parliament and launched in May 2015 under the aegis of OCCAR (Organization for Joint Cooperation in the field of armaments).
Present, among others, were the Undersecretary of State for Defense Matteo Perego di Cremnago, the President of the Liguria Region, Giovanni Toti, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Team Administrator Enrico Credendino, the Director of OCCAR, Amm. Matteo Bisceglia, welcomed by Gen. Claudio Graziano and Pierroberto Folgiero, respectively Chairman and CEO of Fincantieri, as well as the General Manager of the Military Ships Division of the Dario Deste Group.
Marcantonio Colonna, who lived between 1535 and 1584, was one of the most illustrious captains of land and sea of the sixteenth century, also protagonist of the battle of Lepanto in 1571. The godmother of the launch was Jeanne Colonna Pavoncelli, a descendant of the illustrious family.
Undersecretary of State for Defense Matteo Perego di Cremnago said: “It is a very important day for this extraordinary territory and for Italy, for national industry and for small and medium-sized enterprises, both in terms of employment and investment. Thanks to Fincantieri and the related companies for the great technical and innovative value that today make the Defense system take a further step forward in the process of modernization of the operational lines of the Navy units”, continued the Undersecretary, who added: “Making steps forward in strategic dimensions like this for defense and national security, it means taking steps forward for our homeland and for our citizens”.
The multipurpose offshore patrol boat represents a type of highly flexible ship with the ability to perform multiple tasks ranging from patrolling with rescue capacity at sea, to Civil Protection operations, as well as, in its most equipped version, as a front-line combat ship. In fact, different combat system configurations are envisaged: starting from a “light”, related to the patrol task, integrated with self-defense capabilities, up to a “complete”, equipped with maximum defense capacity. In addition, the unit is able to use fast RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) boats up to a length of over 11 meters through side cranes or a slipway located at the extreme stern.
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