Eighth Italian FREMM frigate ITS Antonio Marceglia completes sea trials

ITS Antonio Marceglia, the fourth general-purpose and the overall eighth FREMM frigate to be delivered tot he Italian Navy, finished her sea trials on November 20, the European intergovernmental Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) announced.

As disclosed by the organization, Antonio Marceglia completed platform and combat system equipment tests five months after starting the trials in June.

The tests consisted of thirteen scheduled sea trials that were conducted by the Italian Navy and shipbuilder Fincantieri as the main contractor on the FREMM program.

ITS Antonio Marceglia is now scheduled to be handed over to the navy on April 16, 2019, 14 months after her launch at the Riva Trigoso shipyard in February 2018.

FREMM frigates built under the framework of an Italo-French cooperation program coordinated by OCCAR. The program includes the construction of a total of eighteen ships for the navies of Italy and France, ten for Italy and 8 for France. Italy will eventually operate six general purpose variants and four anti-submarine (ASW) variants, while France will operate six ASW and two anti-air warfare variants.

Antonio Marceglia has a full-load displacement of 6,900 tons and measures 144 meters in length. It carries an OTO Melara gun, a 16-cell vertical launch system launching Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, an MU90 lightweight torpedo launching system (Torpedo Launching System) and the Teseo MK2/A anti-ship system, based on the Teseo missile. The ship also has a flight deck for embarking two helicopters.