Italy receives seventh FREMM frigate

The Italian Navy has received its newest FREMM frigate, Federico Martinengo, at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia, Fincantieri announced on 24 April.

The frigate - delivered in multipurpose configuration - is the seventh of a series of ten Multi Mission European Frigates being built by Fincantieri as part of the Italian-French FREMM programme, coordinated by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation. Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri and 49% Leonardo) is the prime contractor for Italy in the FREMM programme. 

The FREMM frigates are 144 meters in length with a displacement at full load of approximately 6,700 tons. The vessels are designed to reach a maximum speed of 27 knots and to provide accommodation for 200 people including crew and staff.

In Italian Navy service the vessels will replace the Lupo and Maestrale classes of vessels, both built by Fincantieri in the 1970s. The vessels will become the backbone of the naval fleet over the next decades, carrying out a range of military and humanitarian operations.