It was supposed to end its operational life in 2022, after the LHD entered service Trieste, instead the helicopter carrier Garibaldi it could be upgraded as a platform for launching satellites into orbit. The plan was confirmed by the Navy staff.
This would explain the recent modernization works (especially on the propulsion system) of the Garibaldi, aimed at making the naval unit suitable for launching space vectors.
According to the guidelines of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Cavo Dragone, this year there will be the technical verification and the specific training of the personnel will begin, which will be the responsibility of the newly established Joint Forces Command for Space Operations.
Il Garibaldi falls within the National Military Research Plan which issued the “SIMONA” project (Italian System Put into Orbit from NAve), aimed at verifying the safety conditions necessary to use this naval unit as a launching platform for the national space strategy.
The helicopter carrier Garibaldi entered service in the Italian Navy in 1985 and, in the early 90s of the last century, became the first Italian aircraft carrier embarking the VSTOL AV-8B HARRIER II aircraft (Harriers can take off vertically, with minimum war load, unlike of the F35Bs which are STOVL aircraft). In this capacity he participated in all the operations of the Italian Armed Forces abroad, in 2001 he took part in the initial phases of the Operation Enduring Freedom against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
With the entry into service of the Cavour in the 2011, the Garibaldi it was gradually relegated to a reserve carrier role until it was downgraded to a helicopter carrier, only to be struck off the fleet. This new role for the Garibaldi, funds permitting, could pave the way for new uses of naval units that will have to be decommissioned in the future.
Photo: Navy archive
