Fincantieri press release
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 the outfitting 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 – Multi Mission European Frigate is the most important joint initiative developed between European industries. The FREMM program, which represents the state of the art of Italian and European defense, 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.
Carlo Bergamini was delivered in 2012, Virginio Fasan in 2013, Carlo Margottini in 2014, Carabiniere in 2015, Alpino in 2016, Luigi Rizzo in 2017, Federico Martinengo in 2018, Antonio Marceglia in 2019 and Spartaco Schergat was launched in November 2023 and is currently in the advanced preparation phase at the integrated shipyard’s factories and whose delivery is scheduled for April 2025.
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Naval News comments:
The final two FREMMs, Spartaco Schergat (F 598) and Emilio Bianchi (F 589) come in a new ASuW/ASW hybrid configuration to replace the two FREMM GP (General Purpose) sold to Egypt by Fincantieri. Based on the requirement to enhance the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities of Italian Navy, the Spartaco Schergat’s and the follow-on Emilio Bianchi’s steel cut ceremony were celebrated respectively in February 2021 and October 2021. After its launch, the Schergat was transferred to Muggiano shipyard (La Spezia) for final fitting-out and trials, the latter at-sea trials beginning are planned within the second quarter 2024. Delivery to the Italian Navy is planned for the second quarter 2025.
Thanks to the new FREMM hybrid ASuW/ASW configuration, the Italian Navy will increment its escort fleet of ASW platforms from four to six ship, while creating the base for the new FREMM EVO (Evolved) platforms which programme for at least two ships is included in the latest Italian MoD multi-year defence planning document (DPP 2023-2025).
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