The Italian Shipbuilder has announced a deal worth $1.62 billion for two FREMM frigates in the upgraded EVO configuration. The two new ships for the Italian Navy will be built at shipyards in Riva Trigoso and Muggiano. FREMM EVO frigates feature various changes compared to the baseline Italian FREMM frigates.
The first change that draws attention is the switch to a dual-band AESA radar suite in C-band and X-band. The previous GP, ASW, and Hybrid configurations use the rotating KRONOS Grand Naval AESA radar. The armament changes cover naval gun configuration and extra provisions.
The 127 mm Vulcano naval gun has been replaced with a 76 mm STRALES naval gun with DART-guided air-defence ammunition. The standard 16 Sylver VLS package clearly provides for an additional 16 VLS cells. Additionally, the Shipbuilder emphasized the installation of C-UAS systems. The previous update on Italian FREMM frigates was the launch of the first Hybrid FREMM Spartaco Schergat to replace the GP FREMM acquired by Egypt.
