According to the Alicante Naval Command, three warships from the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) will make a logistics stopover in the port of Alicante from Friday, October 3rd to October 6th.
Captain Fortunato Genovese of the Italian Navy commands this group, which includes the flagship ITS “Paolo Thaon di Revel,” a multifunctional battle ship of the Italian Navy, the Spanish coastal minesweeper “Sella,” and the Italian coastal minesweeper “Crotone.” There are no open houses scheduled for the ships, so the public will have to make do with viewing them from the outside.
The group is a component of NATO’s standing maritime troops, operating mostly in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Navy’s mission is to provide a continuous, multinational maritime mine action capability to ensure maritime security and safe navigation, including mine detection and neutralisation, protection of maritime infrastructure and critical routes, support for NATO operations, and improved interoperability among allied navies.
The Italian flagship “Paolo Thaon di Revel” is the first in a new class of multipurpose combat boats designed for the Italian Navy. “Highly versatile, they are designed for a wide range of missions, including maritime patrol, anti-piracy, search and rescue , and even high-intensity combat operations,” according to the military.
One prominent feature is the revolutionary Naval Cockpit, which is an integrated bridge and command centre that allows only two operators to operate the ship’s navigation, combat systems, and control operations, considerably enhancing automation and crew efficiency. The cockpit also has a flight deck and hangar for helicopters or UAVs, fast boats, and modern radar and missile systems.
The Spanish Navy’s “Sella” is the second ship in the “Segura” class, having been delivered in 1999. It has a hull built of fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP) to reduce its magnetic signature. It has modern sonar systems for mine detection and carries unmanned underwater vehicles to identify and neutralise underwater threats.
The Italian “Crotone” is a coastal minehunter in the “Gaeta” class, which evolved from the preceding “Lerici” class. The ship was built at the Intermarine shipyard in Sarzana, Italy, and delivered to the Italian Navy in 1994. The vessel is primarily meant to locate, identify, and eliminate naval mines, but it also has powerful sonar equipment and remotely piloted vehicles that allow the crew to detect and explore any object on the seabed.
Author: Derek Appleton
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