The PPA (Multipurpose Combat Ship) Montecuccoli, asset of the Italian carrier strike group together with the aircraft carrier Cavour and to the frigate Alpine, after a crossing of more than 4.000 nautical miles in the North Pacific Ocean, arrived in Okinawa on August 30. For the first time in history, a Navy unit has made port in the Japanese archipelago of Ryukyu.
From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa: a journey across the Pacific Ocean, starting on August 18 from the famous port of Hawaii and ending on the Japanese island.
Before landing in Okinawa, the PPA, integrating with the Italian carrier strike group off the coast of Japan, participated in the exercise Noble Raven with Japanese ships Izumo e approval, of the German navy Baden Wurttemberg and Frankfurtammain, the Australian Sydney and the French Bretagne, the latter also integrated into the Italian aircraft carrier group. For the "young" unit of the naval team of the Navy, after the RIMPAC and the Pacific Dragon, another opportunity to consolidate international cooperation and improve interoperability in order to increase the operational capabilities of its crew.
The mooring of the Montecuccoli on the island of Okinawa, in addition to allowing logistical replenishment activities after a long navigation, has allowed continuity to the naval diplomacy work conducted by the Italian carrier strike group, in the first operational campaign in the Indo-Pacific, and by Nave Vespucci, on his world tour.
The importance of this far-reaching action was confirmed by the presence of the Italian Consul General in Osaka Marco Prencipe, accompanied by the commander of the Navy Schools, Admiral Antonio Natale, and by the visit of a delegation from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
At the end of the stopover, the PPA Montecuccoli set sail again towards Pusan, South Korea.
