Italy’s final vessel in the new class of Offshore Multi-Purpose Patrol Vessels (PPA) was launched in Genoa on 13 July 2024.
Designated Domenico Millelire (P436), the seventh and final PPA ship was transferred to water for the first time.
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The ceremony followed the age-old christening tradition that saw the ship’s ‘Godmother’, Gianfranca Millelire, a direct descendant of the the ship’s namesake, an eighteenth-century Italian patriot and Royal Sardinian Navy Officer, breaking a bottle of champagne off of the vessel as a gesture of good luck.
Their primary missions include patrolling, surface combat, anti-piracy, monitoring, protection and control of maritime zones and rescue of personnel in distress.
PPAs programme
A programme overseen by Europe’s stalwart programme manager the Organisation for Joint Armaments Cooperation (OCCAR) since 2015, and manufactured by a temporary consortium between Fincantieri and Leonardo, the PPAs will replace the Navy’s existing patrol boats, corvettes and frigates.
Some of the Italian Navy’s existing surface combatants entered service from as early as 1980s, such as its eight Maestrale-class frigates or four light Lerici-class minhunters.
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By GlobalData
PPAs come in three configurations: Light (two ships), armed with artillery; Light Plus (three), comprising ballistic missile defence; and Full capability (two) able to carry out any form of warfare from anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.
P436 belongs to the ‘full’ configuration and will proceed to undergo technical activities until she is delivered to the Navy by Q3 2026.
With all of the units launched, only three PPAs have been delivered including the first of the class, Paolo Thaon di Revel (P340), in March 2022; Francesco Morosini (P431) in October 2022; and Raimondo Montecuccoli (P432) in September 2023.
PPAs attract global buyers
Within a framework of collaborative relations initiated by the Italian Ministry of Defence, Indonesia will benefit from two PPAs in a deal worth €1.18bn ($1.2bn), according to a statement from Fincantieri in March.
However, it remains unclear whether the two ships will come from the seven Italian PPAs. This is unlikely given that Fincantieri launched Italy’s sixth PPA, the Ruggiero di Lauria, from Muggiano shipyard in October 2023.
Indonesia’s interest in PPA units stems from Italy’s maritime campaign in the Far East of the Francesco Morosini, the second ship of the Italian Navy’s PPA class, which also stopped over in Indonesia in July 2023.
Fincantieri suggests that “the transaction will catalyse additional synergies in the operational, industrial, and technological fields between the two countries.”
