Italian Frincantieri announced that delivered a submarine to the Naval Armament Unit – NAVARM for the Italian Navy. The “Romeo Romei” is built with amagnetic material and equipped with silencing techniques to reduce its acoustic signature.
The submarine, which is the last of the four U212A “Todaro” class twin units ordered to Fincantieri by NAVARM, was delivered at Fincantieri’s shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia), on May 11th.
According to the company, the 56-meter submarine is equipped with a silent propulsion system based on fuel cell technology, producing energy through an oxygen-hydrogen reaction independently from external oxygen, ensuring higher autonomy in submersion than conventional battery-based systems. It features an electro-acoustic system which is fully integrated into the command and control system, as well as a modern automation system of the control platform. It can exceed 16 knots underwater.
The building programme of the submarine “Romei” -as well as its twin unit “Pietro Venuti” delivered last July at the Muggiano shipyard-, is the continuation of the project launched in 1994, in cooperation with the German Submarine Consortium, which has already led to the construction in the past years of six units for Germany and two for Italy – the “Todaro” and the “Scirè”. These latter units, delivered by Fincantieri in 2006 and 2007 respectively, are operating as part of the Italian Navy’s fleet.
