The Maestrale class is a class of frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 in the Marina Militare

Marina Militare

The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...

 (Italian Navy). The class is composed of eight vessels, all of which were built by Fincantieri S.p. A, Riva Trigoso, except for Grecale, which was built by Fincantieri S.p.A. - Muggiano, La Spezia

La Spezia

La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...

.

The Maestrale class frigates were primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

, however the ships are highly flexible so they are also capable of anti-air and anti-surface operations.
Ships of this class have been widely used in various international missions, either under NATO or ONU flag, and during normal operations of the Italian Navy

Marina Militare

The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...

.

The first of these ships entered in service in early 1982. The rest of the fleet was launched over the next three years. The ships of the Maestrale class are scheduled to be replaced by the Rinascimento class

FREMM multipurpose frigate

The FREMM Multipurpose Frigate is a ship designed by DCNS/Armaris and Fincantieri to operate in anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, and be capable of carrying out deep strikes against land targets.The French Navy plans to operate eleven FREMM frigates, and the Marina...

 starting in 2011.

Design

These ships were built with the experience and the technology already developed for the previous Lupo class

Lupo class frigate

The Lupo class is a class of frigates built by Cantieri Navali Riuniti for the Italian Navy. Designed as multipurpose warships with emphasis on anti-surface warfare , they have enjoyed some success in the export market, being acquired by the navies of Peru and Venezuela...

. The Maestrale were quite bigger and heavier, so they were slower, but still capable of around 32 knots. The ships have a large superstructure, with one large turret and only one funnel. There are two trees, one of which is quite low, the other much taller. The superstructure continues without interruption until the hangar, and is made, as usual, with light alloys.

The propulsion system is based on two gas-turbine LM-2500 and two diesel engines, in a Combined diesel and gas

Combined diesel and gas

Combined diesel and gas ' is a type of propulsion system for ships which need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes....

 configuration, that make use of diesel for cruising and turbines for high speed. The only problem with this configuration, which is highly economical, is to make the diesel engines powerful enough to achieve sufficient cruising speed without overloading them, or assist them with a continuous use (at low, uneconomical power) of the turbines. In this case, the solution, already developed for the Lupo class ships, was successful. The ships have a maximum range of 5000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 15 knots (29.4 km/h).

Armament

The Maestrale class ships are armed with an array of systems. Mounted on the foredeck is an Otobreda 127 mm gun

Otobreda 127/54 Compact

The Otobreda 127mm/54 Compact gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian company Oto Melara. The gun is completely new but uses the same semi fixed ammunition as the American 5 inch/ 54 gun. It was introduced into service in 1968. A new advanced lightweight mounting for corvettes has been...

, capable of shooting 40 rounds per minute

Rate of fire

Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...

. Despite its large size, it was possible to fit it in the relatively small hull, since the Lupo class ships were fitted with the same weapon. It has 66 shells on three ready-fire carousels. It also had low reaction times and high elevation, with a 32 kg shells and 23 km range.

The ships also carry the Albatross missile system, with an octuple cell capable of firing Sea Sparrow

RIM-7 Sea Sparrow

RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a US ship-borne short-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon system, primarily intended for defense against anti-ship missiles...

 or Aspide

Selenia Aspide

The Aspide is an Italian medium range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile produced by Selenia . It is provided with semi-active radar-homing seeker...

 missiles. This modern weapon contains a monopulse guide and a powerful rocket-engine, and advanced flight controls. The ships carry a supply of 16 missiles, and the system is reloaded by a Riva-Calzoni system, which is capable of loading up to four missiles at once, making virtually all the missiles in the magazine

Magazine (artillery)

Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...

 ready to be launched.

After the turret there are two CIWS DARDO

DARDO

DARDO is a Close-in weapon system built by the Italian companies Breda and Oto Melara. It is composed of two Breda-built Bofors 40 mm firing high explosive shells, a fire-control radar and a fire-control system...

, with 2x40mm L70 Bofors guns. They have very rapid mechanical systems, and depots with over 700 shells, and can fire around 600 rounds per minute. The proximity fuses and the fire control systems help this unmanned turret to react quickly to incoming missiles.

Also on deck are four Otomat anti-ship missiles, capable of striking a target 160 km or more away, with a 210 kg warhead. They are fitted over the hangar, where there are two AB-212 helicopters ASW multirole machines.

Finally, there are four torpedo-launchers, two triple ILAS-3 (similar to Mk 32

Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes

The Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes system is a torpedo launching system designed for the United States Navy. The Mark 32 has been the standard anti-submarine torpedo launching system aboard United States Navy surface vessels since its introduction in 1960, and in use aboard the warships of...

) with 324 mm caliber, with 12 torpedoes available (not known if they are shared also with helicopters), and the most particular weapon, the A.184, a modern wired torpedo with two launch tubes and six to eight torpedoes. This is the main weapon for ASW tasks, but it also be used as an anti-ship weapon, even though its propulsion system (electric) does not allow great speed and range. Compared to ASROC

ASROC

ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...

, this weapon has many advantages, and does not require a bulky launcher, but needs several minutes, even at 35 knots (68.6 km/h), to reach nine kilometers, while Asroc can do this in much less time.

Electronic warfare outfit

These ships have also have several electronic systems: one radar air and surface search RAN10S (160 km) is placed over the smaller tree, a radar of navigation and surface search SPN703 is fitted on the main tree, where a navigation radar is present as well, and finally, three radars: one RTN-10X for gun and Aspide control, and two smaller RTN-20X for the DARDO systems, all fitted in the forward superstructure, separated from the aft by the funnel and the heat dissipaters. As two submarine search, there is a VDS DE 1164 sonar, and DE1160B hull mounted. As ECMs, there are two SCLAR rocket-launchers that are capable of launching chaff, flare, and HE rockets up to ten kilometers.

Several electronic and communication systems are fitted as well, and an IPN20 command and control system is present to integrate all the tactical information and use the weapons on board.

Comparison of Maestrale and Lupo Classes

The Lupo class entered in service in 1977. The Maestrale class is an upgraded version of its predecessor. Maestrale shares the same, extremely slim hull (with a length/width of 10:1) but this was enlarged to accommodate many more systems. The Lupos is three knots faster, and has eight OTOMAT. Maestrale had much of Lupo's equipment, but arranged differently. Endurance was increased with the Maestrale class from 5,000 to 6000 miles (9,656 km).

Maestrale has half the OTOMATs but twice as many torpedo launchers (with the introduction of the new heavy torpedoes), twice the helicopters, and twice the sonars, having also a VDS. This, coupled with heavy torpedoes and two helicopters, improved dramatically the ASW capabilities. The use of more modern equipment and an Albatross missile system improved in some aspects the air defense.

Maestrale has some shortcomings. The most prominent is the air-defense layout: while Lupos has the four weapons distributed across the entire hull length, Maestrale, because of the double hangar, lacked this ability, resulting in all of the weapons systems being placed on the foredeck and midships. This arrangement leaves dangerous blind spots in the ships' defenses.

After their entry in service, Maestrales were modernized with some minor programs, but as many other Italian ships, no major improvements were made. The equipment present on the Maestrale class ships is almost equal to what it was in 1982, except for a pair of 20 mm guns installed as 'anti-fast vessels close defense', in 2005.

Ships

Pennant number	Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned
F570	Maestrale	CNR Riva Trigoso	2 February 1981	7 March 1982
F571	Grecale	CNR Muggiano	12 September 1981	5 February 1983
F573	Scirocco	CNR Riva Trigoso	17 April 1982	20 September 1983
F575	Euro	CNR Riva Trigoso	25 March 1983	7 April 1984
F572	Libeccio	CNR Riva Trigoso	7 September 1981	5 February 1983
F574	Aliseo	CNR Riva Trigoso	29 October 1982	20 September 1983
F576	Espero	CNR Riva Trigoso	19 November 1983	4 May 1985
F577	Zeffiro	CNR Riva Trigoso	19 May 1984	4 May 1985