The first Italian Navy Full-configuration Multi-Purpose Combat Ship (MPCS)/PPA (Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura) Giovanni delle Bande Nere (P 434), delivered by Fincantieri through OCCAR to the Italian Navy on 2 October 2024, participated to the exercise At Sea Demonstration / Formidable Shield 25 (ASD/FS25), successfully conducting a range of live-firing activities including an integrated launch of a telemetry MBDA Aster 15 missile with the engagement a subsonic sea-skimmer target and the successful tracking of subsonic, supersonic (including sea-skimming), and ballistic (short and medium-range) aerial targets using the ship’s new generation Leonardo Dual Band Radar or DBR (C- and X-bands), in addition to the naval gun firing with the Leonardo 127 LW Vulcano main gun.
Italian Navy press release
The exercise At Sea Demonstration / Formidable Shield 25 (ASD/FS25), a joint Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) exercise planned by the U.S. Sixth Fleet and conducted by NATO’s advanced maritime command, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), based in Lisbon, took place from May 3rd to 23rd, 2025.
ITS Giovanni delle Bande Nere – the first Full-configuration Multi-Purpose Combat Ship – participated in the largest naval live-fire exercise in the Euro-Atlantic area, involving a wide spectrum of capabilities across multi-domain environments, from surface to cyberspace. The exercise represents a prime example of combined-joint cooperation, focusing on operational readiness, advanced interoperability, and demonstration of collective deterrence.
The exercise, held biannually, this year involved 16 ships, over 25 air assets, and approximately 3,000 military personnel from 10 Allied nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Australia, Greece, and Turkey participated as observers.
After a brief logistical stop in Faslane (Scotland) and an ice-breaking opportunity with the crews of HMS Dragon and FS Normandie, the unit set sail in Scottish waters. There, it faced daily training scenarios of increasing difficulty. The training area stretched from Northern Norway (Andøya) to the west coast of Scotland, and included the Outer Hebrides maritime range in the United Kingdom, which served as the primary location for missile launch scenarios.
Among the initial scenarios, an extremely topical one involved participation in a multi-threat asymmetrical exercise – known as a “swarm scenario” – where the ship reacted to four different types of aerial and surface drones launched simultaneously from the coast.
Next, after a naval gunfire support exercise with major calibres at Cape Wrath, Scotland, the exercise truly got underway. The subsequent challenge, a pre-determined national objective, involved the successful tracking of subsonic, supersonic (including sea-skimming), and ballistic (short and medium-range) aerial targets using the ship’s new generation Dual Band Radar. This tracking data was then shared via a Link 16 architecture.
The sensor’s performance confirmed its reliability and effectiveness in continuously relaying these types of tracks—essential in the current geopolitical landscape—to the ship’s combat management system and disseminating them to the naval force for early warning.
Finally, as a demonstration of its high level of training and readiness, ITS Giovanni Delle Bande Nere executed an integrated launch of a telemetry Aster 15 missile, successfully engaging a subsonic sea-skimmer target. This target was first tracked by radar and subsequently shared through a Link network with other allied units involved in the scenario.
With the event held today, May 27th, in Lisbon and DV Day onboard ITS Giovanni Delle Bande Nere, the exercise officially concludes with the presentation of the results achieved by the participating nations and proposals for future editions.
The At Sea Demonstration / Formidable Shield 25 represents not only an opportunity for operational training but also a real-time interoperability laboratory, capable of testing and validating critical capabilities in a plausible and realistic scenario. In an era of strategic transition, the Atlantic Alliance demonstrates, through exercises like this, its ability to evolve and adapt, strengthening its deterrent potential and the cohesion between partners and allies.
During the assembly and reorganization of the 14 participating naval and air assets, coordinated by ITS Giovanni delle Bande Nere off the Hebrides range, the Commander, Task Group (CTG) 154.64, Captain Michael S. Dwan, expressed words of esteem and appreciation, speaking of an “outstanding demonstration of naval sea power“.
During the concluding event of ASD/FS25 in Lisbon, Vice Admiral Aurelio De Carolis expressed satisfaction with “the excellent work carried out with the launch of the Aster 15, a result that clearly testifies to the extraordinary level of professionalism of the crew and an acknowledgement of the Italian Navy’s excellence in a highly demanding operational context”.
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This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: Naval News.
Original article: https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/06/formidable-shield-25-italian-navy-participation-with-the-first-full-ppa-a-success/
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