Without fanfare the Italian naval attack group is in the Far East

The Italian Navy has quietly deployed, without too much fanfare, its Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to the Indo-Pacific region. On 24 June the Navy announced the arrival in Singapore for a logistical stop of the 31st Naval Group, as the nucleus of the CSG composed of the ITS Cavour and the ITS Alpino FREMM frigate was called.

Both ships left their home port in Taranto on 1 June 2024, shortly after the end of the Mare Aperto 2024 exercise, which also granted operational certification of the CSG and its air component. The Italian Ministry of Defense and Navy has not released any official statements or details about the deployment, however Naval News reported that the cruise is expected to last five months and see the aircraft carrier visit 10 countries.

The 31st Naval Group and the CSG

The Carrier Strike Group, as we have said, has its nucleus composed of the 31st Naval Group, which includes the ITS Cavour and the ITS Alpino. The two ships will be joined during the cruise by allied ships that will be integrated into the CSG, with a composition that will change over time.

Flagship of the Navy, the ITS Cavour is configured for STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) operations, with six seats for simultaneous operations and eight seats on the flight deck. The hangar has enough space for 12 helicopters or eight fighters or a combination of both.

Launched in 2004, the 27,000-ton vessel then completed the maintenance and modernization work necessary to accommodate and operate the F-35B Lightning II. The fifth generation aircraft is gradually replacing the aging AV-8B+ Harrier II, with both types assigned to the same squadron, GRUPAER Lupi.

The ITS Alpino is a FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigate), part of a Franco-Italian program that led to the Bergamini class for Italy and the Aquitaine class for France. The Alpino is configured specifically for ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) roles, although it retains extended AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) capabilities.

Shortly after leaving port, the CSG was joined by the Spanish frigate Numancia and the French frigate Aconit, as part of EUROMARFOR (European Maritime Force), of which ITS Cavour is the flagship. The group then operated the French supply ship Somme and the Greek frigate Themistocles and the Vlachakos class fast attack ship Roussen as part of NATO's SNMG2 (Standing NATO Maritime Group 2).

After leaving the Mediterranean Sea, the CSG integrated into the Red Sea with the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Gravely, and the French destroyer Forbin. The ships conducted a PHOTEX (Photo Exercise) in the US 5th Fleet area of ​​operations, before the Italian ships resumed sailing.

The CSG is also expected to meet the Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci, currently on a world tour, in Japan and the patrol vessel Raimondo Montecuccoli PPA.

The deployment

This operational campaign is expected to evaluate and qualify the capabilities of the air component, with the F-35B reaching Initial Operational Capability by the end of the deployment. After sailing the Indian Ocean, the CSG will reach Australia for one of the campaign's major events, the biennial exercise Pitch Black .

The 2024 edition, scheduled from July 12 to August 2, is expected to be the largest in the exercise's 43-year history. In fact, it will see the participation of 21 international participants and over 140 aircraft from all over the world, with approximately 4435 people participating.

The Italian CSG of the Navy will also be supported for the occasion by the Air Force. Indeed, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Luca Goretti said in an interview last year that the ItAF will deploy nearly 25 jets to Australia for the Pitch Black exercise, including Eurofighter F-2000s, the F-35A and F-35B in collaboration with the Navy.

The CSG is expected to operate in the region for a total of two months, visiting Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, India and the Middle East, before returning to Italy in November. Contrary to what other navies have done, no provocative positions should be taken towards China, and this is perhaps the reason why the naval group's presence in the Far East has not been particularly publicized.

The Cavour air wing

Given the absence of official details on the operational campaign, we cannot have a complete idea of ​​what the composition of the ITS Cavour's carrier air wing is. The air component consists of a mix of AV-8B+ and F-35B fighter jets, as well as a mix of NH90 and EH101 helicopters.

Photos released so far, notably a photo of the ship leaving port, a photo of NATO SNMG2 and photos of PHOTEX in the Red Sea, show four F-35Bs and six Harriers on board, including the two-seat TAV-8B. The helicopters were not immediately visible, with at least one NH90 and one EH101 recognizable on the deck, but others should be expected in the hangars.

At least one more helicopter is expected on the ITS Alpino, which is capable of carrying two helicopters in its hangars and flight deck. Additionally, because Air Force and Navy F-35Bs are scheduled to operate together during Exercise Pitch Black, the Air Force fighters are expected to be integrated into the carrier wing with their Navy counterparts.

Tests of the AW609 tiltrotor were carried out in April

Meanwhile, the landing and flight tests of Leonardo's AW609 swing rotor aircraft (tiltrotor) have taken place, which has completed a series of landings and take-offs from Cavour, and which will potentially add a significant operational capacity to our aircraft-carrying cruiser . The aircraft should enter industrial production next year and three examples of the SAR version have already been sold to the Emirates.

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The article Without fanfare the Italian naval attack group is in the Far East comes from Economic Scenarios .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/senza-clamore-il-gruppo-dattacco-navale-italiano-e-in-estremo-oriente/ on Sat, 29 Jun 2024 09:00:41 +0000.