Today, at the Fincantieri plant in Muggiano (La Spezia), the "Rizzo" multi-role frigate, the sixth unit of the FREMM program - European Multi Mission Frigates - commissioned to Fincantieri as part of the international cooperation agreement was delivered to the Navy Italian-French, with the coordination of OCCAR, the joint organization for European cooperation in the field of armaments. The program, of which Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (51% Fincantieri, 49% Leonardo) is prime contractor for Italy, provides for the construction of ten units, all of which have already been ordered to date.
"Rizzo" is the sixth FREMM unit that Fincantieri completes complete with the combat system, the second in a multi-role configuration after the "Carlo Bergamini", delivered to the Navy in the 2012. With 144 meters long and a full load displacement of around 6.700 tons, the FREMM frigates represent a technological excellence: designed to reach a maximum speed of 27 knots and accommodate up to 200 people (crew and personnel), these ships are in able to always guarantee a high degree of flexibility and the ability to operate in a wide spectrum of scenarios and all tactical situations.
The FREMM program, which represents the state of the art of Italian and European defense, arises from the need to renew the line of the Navy units of the Lupo class (already radiated) and Mistral (some already radiated, others close to reaching the limit of operating life), built by Fincantieri in the seventies.
These units contribute decisively to the tasks assigned to the Navy, possessing operational capabilities in various sectors, from those more specifically military to those supporting the community, and will constitute the "backbone" of the Naval Squadron in the coming decades.
