Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

Cassiopea (class)

1989 COLD WAR MODERN NAVY

History

The modern Italian Navy's Cassiopeia class patrol fleet currently consists of four ships. These are warships built and developed in the late Cold War (1947-1991) to support Italian interests in its vast coastline and Mediterranean waters. The class is led by Cassiopea (P-401) and sister ships Libra (P-402), Spica (P-403) and Vega (P-404). Today (2018) all are active in the Italian Navy.

They are expected to be deployed in the early 2020s.

The Cassiopeia class ships were designed in parallel with the larger Minerva class, the former for nearshore operations and the latter for operations in deeper waters off the Italian coast. With a broader mission set, the Minerva is more suitable for direct combat, while the Cassiopeia is leaner due to its relatively reduced role.

The Italian government approved the purchase of the Cassiopea class in late 1982 and awarded its construction contract - from Muggiano to Fincantieri - in 1986.

The lead ship, Cassiopeia, was laid on 16 March 1987 and launched on 19 July 1988. She officially entered service on October 21, 1989. Libra was followed on March 16, 1987, and launched on July 27, 1988. It was put into use on March 23, 1991.

Construction of the Spica began on September 5, 1988, and it was launched on May 27, 1989, and later entered service on March 23, 1991. Vega was last in the class, laid on June 30, 1989 and launched on February 24, 1990. She enlisted on May 8, 1992.

These ships have a traditional Cold War appearance because their development occurred during the "pre-stealth" period of warships. Her bow has a raised hull line that remains intact (and lower) towards the stern.

The forecastle has a main deck gun with turret and a bridge superstructure aft of this location, integrated into an enclosed main mast that also houses a surface search radar system. Smoke funnels are also integrated into the fuselage structure, arranged in a flat side-by-side design. A pole was added to the stern of these structures near the midship. The aft deck above the stern section becomes home to a helipad to support a medium naval helicopter (usually an Agusta-Bell AB-212 equipped with an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role).

Full hangar facilities are also included.

The boats will use a multi-diesel propulsion scheme consisting of 2 x Grandi Motori Trieste BL-230. 16 marine diesel engines are connected to 3 Isotta-Fraschini ID 36SS6V diesel generators driving 2 shafts under the stern. There is also an Isotta-Fraschini VM-V613oT unit for backup power.

As a result, this relatively compact warship is making progress at speeds of up to 21 knots and a range of up to 3,300 nautical miles.

Dimensions include 261.9 ft barrel length, 38.8 ft beam and 11.9 ft draft. The standard load displacement reaches 1130 tons, and the full load displacement reaches 1500 tons.

This stage is equipped with SMA SPN-748(V)2 Navigation Aid, AESN SPS-702(v)2 Surface Search Radar Kit, AESN SPG-70 (RTN-10X) Fire Control (FC) Radar Unit and Navigation Radar GEM Elettronica Gemeni-DB. Also carries a full electronic warfare (EW) suite.

Armament consists of 1 x 76 mm/62 caliber OTO-Melara Allagarto main deck gun and turret, supported by 2 x OTO-Melara 25 mm/80 caliber secondary guns. Additionally, the crew can deploy up to two 7.62mm MG42/59 general purpose machine guns to deal with very close-range threats approaching the ship.

There are 60 crew members on board, including 6 candidates for officer rank. The ship shop allows ships to operate for up to 35 days before needing some form of resupply.

As of 2014, the course has received some modern installations with a focus on navigation and radar.

The Italian Navy currently (2018) operates three different patrol classes: Comandanti, Sirio and Cassiopea, with a total of 10 ships.