Ship Carabiniere, which set sail on 10 February from Adelaide, Australia, the second stage of the naval campaign in Southeast Asia and Australia on the overseas continent, arrived on Tuesday 14 in the port of Sydney.
Main port city and capital of the state of South Australia, but above all home to the largest defense technology research industry, Adelaide was a strategic stop for the Carabiniere ship campaign which, from 4 February, the day of its arrival, received experts on board of the sector: technicians, engineers, politicians and business stakeholders in the program Sea 5000 Future Frigates.
A project that provides for an investment of 35 billion dollars by the Australian government for the construction of 9 new ships that would be built right here in Adelaide and which sees Fincantieri - one of the partners of this Campaign together with Leonardo, MBDA Italia, Elettronica and Telespazio - directly interested in the tender.
Federal Minister for Defense Industry Christopher Pyne, first guest to board the ship Carabiniere upon his arrival in Adelaide, at the end of a thorough tour of the ship he spoke of a state-of-the-art unit: "The ship is a clear example of what Fincantieri has built for the Italian Navy: a latest-generation antisubmarine frigate. Australia - added the minister - plans to build 9 such frigates as part of a national security project. The aim is to provide the Royal Australian Navy with the best possible capabilities with the delivery of these ships. Fincantieri presented his project: a ship equipped with different weapon systems and equipment that can conduct different types of missions. We are also waiting to know the products of the other companies in the competition. It will be the Australian Navy technicians who will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the various projects and advise us on how to invest".
Defense Minister of South Australia Hamilton Smith and Commander Andrew Burnett, in command of the Royal Australian Navy Headquarters South Australia, have also shown interest in FREMM. "Carabiniere ship visit - told the crew deployed on the flight deck the Italian ambassador to Australia, Pierfrancesco Zazo - gave the opportunity to introduce Italian excellence to the political and business world who are looking with interest at our shipbuilding industry".
Five days of rest during which the so-called ones have followed one another sea riders, engineers and technicians of the Department of Defense and of the Australian Navy called upon to express an opinion on the Italian frigate, and the companies of the supply chain leaders by Fincantieri. The commander, during the press conference held on board, illustrated the objectives of the naval campaign, the potential of the FREMMs and the new naval projects undertaken by the Navy.
But there was also space for visits on board, in particular by members of the National Sailors' Association of Italy in Australia, former carabinieri and former soldiers who also took part in the holy mass on board, celebrated by the archbishop emeritus of Adelaide, Philip Wilson.
Left the port of Adelaide, ship Carabiniere has crossing the Australian frigate HMAS Hobart, then heading to Sydney.
The campaign, which started from La Spezia on 20 December last, will bring the ship to touch in the coming months, in addition to Australia, some countries of the Middle East and South-East Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan and Oman.
The unit will be committed to ensuring maritime presence and surveillance, to strengthening the cooperation activities already underway with some trans-regional allies and to initiate relations with new potential partners, in the framework of the institutional tasks entrusted to the Armed Forces.
The initiative was born with the collaboration of Fincantieri (main sponsor), Leonardo, MBDA Italia, Elettronica and Telespazio.
