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On May 6th, the flagship of the Italian Navy, the light aircraft carrier Cavour 550 left the Taranto naval base for sea trials after modernization work.
The modernization work began back in December 2018.
It is reported that after going to sea, the ship’s crew should begin preparations for deployment off the US east coast, where tests will be made for landing and taking off from the aircraft carrier of F-35B fighter jets.
In addition to the conventional take-off and landing version of the F-35A fighter jets, Italy purchased 30 F-35B fighters for the Navy.
A number of aircraft with a shortened take-off and vertical landing will replace the obsolete AV-8B Harrier carrier-based attack aircraft as part of the aircraft carrier’s wing.
The Italian Navy received its first F-35B in January 2018.
The work on board the Cavour aircraft carrier involved both navy specialists and representatives of defense contractors Fincantieri and the Leonardo group.
The Cavour aircraft carrier will face a preparatory training period for the next departure for the United States in the summer, where it will conduct some tests with the F-35B aircraft on board. These activities will represent the first important steps for achieving the Initial Operational Capacity of the aircraft carrier with its renewed Italian Navy Aviation capability.
The Cavour 550 was laid down by Fincantieri in June 2001, and was launched from the Riva Trigoso shipyard in Sestri Levante, on July 20th 2004.
Sea trials began in December 2006, and she was officially commissioned March 27th 2008. Full operational capability (FOC) was reached June 10th 2009.
It has the following characteristics:
- Displacement: 27,100 metric tons (30,000 MT full load);
- Length: 244 m;
- Beam:1 m, 39 m moulded breadth;
- Draught:7 m;
- Propulsion: COGAG (Combined Gas Turbine and Gas Turbine) scheme, 2 shafts, 4 General Electric/Avio LM2500+ gas turbines providing 88,000 kW, 6 diesel generators Wärtsila CW 12V200 13,200 kW;
- Speed: 29 knots;
- Range: 7,000 nautical miles at 16 knots;
- Complement: 1,202 (optional 90 more), out of which 5 flag officers, 486 crew, 211 embarked air wing, 140 C4 staff, 360 troops;
Sensors and processing systems:
- Selex RAN-40L 3D L-band long-range radar
- Selex ES EMPAR (SPY-790) multifunction radar
- Selex ES RAN-30X/I RASS (SPS-791) surface radar
- 2 SELEX ES RTN-25X Orion, fire direction radars
- PAR (Precision Approach Radar) Selex ES MM/SPN-720
- PALS (Precision Approach and Landing System) Telephonics AN/SPN-41A
- 2 GEM Elettronica MM/SPN-753(v)10 navigation radars
- Selex ES SIR-R/S IFF system
- TACAN SRN-15 A
- -WASS SNA-2000 Mine Avoidance Sonar (Leonardo Thesan)
- 2 Selex ES IRST SASS (Silent Acquisition and Surveillance System)
- GEM Elettronica IRST EOSS-100
Electronic warfare & decoys:
- Elettronica Spa NETTUNO-4100 ECM System
- EW System (RESM/CESM, RECM)
Armament:
- 4 × 8-cell A-43 Sylver launchers carrying the MBDA Aster 15 surface-to-air missile
- 2 × Oto Melara 76/62 mm Strales guns
- 3 × Oerlikon Contraves 25/80 mm Anti-aircraft guns
- 2 x ODLS-H/ODLS OTO Melara decoy launching systems
It has an aircraft deck and hangar that can hold between 20 and 30 aircraft, and it would reportedly be able to hold 10 F-35B fighter jets in its hangar, and 6 more parked on deck.
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LOL. I have had too much laughter today, this is one of the better jokes, considering the seriously pathetic condition of Italy and its less than stellar military.
The old hateful mullahs’ regime support strikes again.
Dumbass Jew PUNK, you are most stupid ignorant fuckwit here and an absolute hoot :)
Iran is helping Italy with its experience in fighting the coronavirus. Russia was the first responder.
“Iran is helping Italy with its experience in fighting the coronavirus. Russia was the first responder.” – Well done to them.
Iran has a very advanced medical research history and its Pasteur Institute is one of the oldest in the world. It has invested huge funds in biotechnology and closely cooperates with Indian universities. The revolution has made education universal and free in Iran and they have over 100,000 students in India, mostly graduate level. India, Russia and Iran graduate more science and engineering students than US or all of EU combined. Open your mind to reality and not misplaced hate against the Persians, they are good people and friends of India as we are investing billions in their economy and Chah-Bahar free trade zone.
I love Iranians. My parents are Iranian. I oppose the mullahs regime and what they do to the Iranian people. So why did you down voted “viva italia” ? Aren’t they entitled to sympathy during their difficult times?
I abhor wasteful spending on weapons and wars. Italy should devote its energies on helping its people and mafia control of its corrupt health care system. No government is perfect, Iranian people choose the religious clergy which has mass support. India has a worse government that kills its people by sectarianism but is supported by the west, so it is not demonized like Iran. Despite, 41 years of the harshest sanctions, Iran has done well. You should visit the land of your parents, it is a wonderful country with hospitable cultured people. India and Iran are linked at the soul as Hinduism came from Zoroastrianism. Persians will always be in Indian hearts due to everlasting legacies like Taj Mahal built by an architect from Isfahan. Don’t believe what you read in Zionist controlled MSM, they even fan conflict in India.
“viva italia” = long live italy. That’s what you down voted. What is the connection to arms and wars?
“Iranian people choose the religious clergy …” – Are you writing this seriously? When was the Supreme Leader elected? When were the mullahs elected? If you forget, they took over the revolution 41 years ago.
“…which has mass support…” – how do you know that ? I think most Iranians are against the mullahs regime.
“India has a worse government…” – You guys chose it, you are the world’s largest democracy. You can always choose differently.
“You should visit the land of your parents” – Why should I or anyone of my family take the risk? Most of my family has dual citizenship. The Mullah regime is used to arrest people like us.
The Persian people have done wonderful things in the past. The mullahs regime is an abnormality in Iran/ Persia’s history . Dark and radical regime that destroys Iran from within.
Look Jew cunt, your other account upvoted you ROFLMAO.
Red Fort too and many other historic buildings.
Italy like the US should spend its scarce resources on its people who are suffering badly.
viva italia.
Dumb Jew cunt, Italians are born losers, they started the war with your Nazi masters and then when the Germans started losing they switched sides. In Africa, the morons were a liability for the Africa Corps as their corrupt officers and cowardly soldiers would surrender even before a bullet was fired.Much like the Americunt and Saudi cunts. Dumbass PUNK ROFLMAO.
Your first preference is hate. My first preference is love.
You are a faggot, so I am sure it is ROFLMAO.
I have no problem with Jews, Italians, Americans, Iranians, gays … these are not curses for me. These are curses for hateful old men like you.
Italy has the weakest economy in Europe and could not even afford to buy basic medical equipment, before Russia and China came to help and it is wasting money on a 60 year old moth balled aircraft carrier? Even India with the second largest economy is finding it difficult to maintain it carriers.
It’s not a 60 year old moth balled ship. A quick wikipedia search could have told you she was built and raised in this century.,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_aircraft_carrier_Cavour
Why didnt they just take a shipping container ship instead of building a smaller ship? 27k tons is the size of a destroyer..
It is WW2 vintage and luckily did not join the rest of the Italian navy at the bottom of Taranto bay :) Most of Italian navy’s newer ships are generally found at their underwater harbor.
Wrong. The Cavour was laid down in 2001 and entered service in 2008. The Italians had built 2 aircraft carriers during WW2, but neither of the two was ever finished and both were scrapped after the war. India was the last country to operate a carrier that was of WW2 vintage as she operated the old HMS Hermes until 2017.
The only thing they modernized was the pasta makers, electric vs. the old hand method. Even after all the complaints of strange curly hairs, there was still almost a mutiny about it.
…soon to be deployed north of Libya to serve as a floating migrant pipeline into the EU.
Great.. But its drawback is that it will be using the horrid US F35 laughing stock of a fighter on its decks… Those POS aircraft will cost MORE than the entire aircraft carrier and are useless…..