Italian Navy FREMM Frigate Carlo Margottini is at DIMDEX 2018.

The Italian Navy’s FREMM Frigate “Carlo Margottini”, designed and built by Fincantieri, one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, is attending the 6th edition of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference, DIMDEX 18, one of the leading events in the global maritime defence and security industry, which is ongoing this week in Qatar.

The Italian Navy’s FREMM Frigate “Carlo Margottini”, designed and built by Fincantieri is attending DIMDEX 2018

“Margottini” frigate departed from Italy on February 20th for a naval campaign in the Middle East, touching, besides Qatar, different countries, such as Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Djibouti, where the vessel will take command of the EU NAVFOR-led counter-piracy operation “Atalanta”.

The deployment of the Italian FREMM frigate - besides ensuring presence and surveillance aimed at protecting the sea lines of communication of national interest - is included among the activities that the Italian Navy carries out with allied and friend nations in the framework of multinational cooperation and dialogue among countries. This activity also allows to ensure a qualified presence in foreign countries with which Italy maintains important political, diplomatic, and economic relations, and conducts military cooperation activities. It also represents an important opportunity to promote the "Italian System" in an integrated way, assisting and supporting the activities of the national industry, promoting Italy’s image.

The Italian Navy’s FREMM Frigate “Carlo Margottini”, designed and built by Fincantieri is attending DIMDEX 2018

The participation in DIMDEX falls within this respect: a major event in the field of technology, maritime and defence industry capabilities, an opportunity - besides the business activities involving the companies, such as Fincantieri, present at the exhibition - to establish and consolidate contacts with the navies which face the same threats, risks and challenges every day. Qatar is part of Fincantieri’s business development strategy in the Middle East. It is well known that recently the company received an order from the Qatari Ministry of Defence for the construction of 7 new generation surface vessels included in the national naval acquisition program, as well as support services to be done in the country for further 10 years after the delivery of the ships.

“Margottini” was delivered by Fincantieri to the Italian Navy in 2014. It is the third FREMM vessel, the second in the anti-submarine warfare version (ASW), built at the Italian shipyards of the Group. By now 6 ships, out of 10, have been handed over to the Italian Navy (the seventh is currently going through the delivery phase) and are operating daily and successfully in a range of operational situations in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic and elsewhere.

It is an advanced and well-proven vessel, it represents the state-of-the-art of the Italian and European defense, giving proof to operate, to be reliable, highly flexible and ensuring multiple configurations of the platform depending on the different operational needs, raising therefore interest in other foreign Navies.

For these reasons, the Italian version of the FREMM has been shortlisted by the Australian Government as one of the three key platforms under the SEA 5000 – Future Frigate programme to deliver nine, new frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. Furthermore, Fincantieri’s US subsidiary Marinette Marine was down-selected by the US Navy with a concept design contract to evolve its FREMM-design into the next-generation frigate of the FFG(X) program.