On 18th March, the first PPA ship named Paolo Thaon Di Revel was successfully delivered to the Italian Navy. The Final Official Acceptance (FOA) ceremony was held at the Muggiano Shipyard, in La Spezia, Italy.
The ship was named after Marquess Paolo Thaon di Revel, a former Admiral of the Italian Navy during World War I and later a politician. He was appointed as Minister of the Navy; he was nominated as Grand Admiral in 1924.
The Deputy National Director of Armaments V. Adm. Dario Giacomin, the Director of the Italian Naval Armaments Directorate V. Adm. Massimo Guma, and the Director of OCCAR-EA Mr Matteo Bisceglia attended the ceremony. Dr Giuseppe Giordo (Fincantieri) and Eng. Gabriele Pieralli (Leonardo Company) attended the event as representatives of the Temporary Consortium, responsible for the ship’s development and production.
The ceremony was preceded by the Final Official Acceptance Review (FOAR) which was held on 17th March at the Muggiano Shipyard where the representatives of the Nation, OCCAR and Industry finalised the contractual documentation prior to ship delivery.
The delivery of the first ship of the PPA class to the Italian Navy represents a decisive and fundamental milestone for the Programme since the Italian Navy will soon have a new ship to integrate as part of its fleet.
Based on a common platform, PPAs will be delivered in three configurations with incremental capabilities:
LIGHT: Version with a complete set of artillery;
LIGHT PLUS: Version similar to ‘LIGHT’ but with added missile firing capability and with actuators planned also for ballistic missile defence; and
FULL: Version to carry out tasks in all warfare areas such as Anti-Air (AAW), Anti-Surface (ASuW) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW).
LIGHT and LIGHT PLUS versions are developed with the ready for approach;
FULL versions can quickly be deployed also on LIGHT and LIGHT PLUS, facilitating operational flexibility and gmdl-griding capabilities throughout the vessel’s life.