At 7:20 am on Tuesday 17 May, the Luigi Rizzo ship left its moorings from the quay of the Fincantieri factory in Muggiano (La Spezia) to begin its first outing at sea. The activity is part of the program of technical tests in navigation that will allow to complete the preparation phase of the unit, which will be delivered to the Navy in the first months of 2017.
On board the team admiral Donato Marzano, logistic commander of the armed force and president of the commission for testing and acceptance of the unit, staff of Marinalles (Centro Allestimento Nuove Costruzioni Navali), representatives of technical bodies that cooperate in the verification of the outfitting and a share of the future crew.
Nave Luigi Rizzo is the sixth new generation frigate commissioned by the Navy as part of the Italian-French FREMM program (European Multi Mission Frigate) and the second of its type General Purpose (GP), characterized by high flexibility of use in various operational contexts. Set the 5 March 2013, the 19 December 2015 was launched in the Fincantieri shipyard of Riva Trigoso (GE).
The FREMMs, thanks to their command and control capabilities and logistical autonomy, will be able to carry out presence and surveillance activities, control of migratory flows and mercantile traffic, but also anti-terrorism and anti-piracy operations. They are also equipped with remarkable capabilities dual use, they can also be used for humanitarian assistance missions, relief in the event of natural disasters and assistance in civil protection and cultural heritage.
