In response to the demands of a post-Cold War world, the Italian Navy must modernize its fleet to support joint and combined operations in the future. A new multipurpose vessel, the MMCV, will make such operations possible.
After reexamination of roles and missions in a post-Cold War environment, foreseeable military operations will rely on greater contributions from the sea, by adequately tailored joint forces. Italy has made a valid demonstration of that concept, based upon the capabilities provided by the amphibious component of the Italian Navy. This joint-force concept has been a relevant part of the three naval task groups that were established in recent years to support the Italian joint-force packages involved in the U.N.-sponsored missions during contingency operations in Somalia. It is also conceivable that the national amphibious force—structured as a joint army/navy brigade—will have a crucial role to play in any multinational naval activities, whatever their source: NATO, the Western European Union, or the United Nations.
Roles, Missions, and Operational Environment
As seen in the latest Italian operations in Somalia, a single vessel able to carry out multipurpose roles would have been better suited in many cases to the contingency requirements. This aspect of the problem is closely linked with the need to replace—within the present decade—the aging air-capable missile cruiser Vittorio Veneto, which was commissioned in 1969 and is approaching the end of her 30-year service life.
According to the New Defence Model (NDM)—a document dealing with a new global reorientation and reorganization of the Italian armed forces, drafted in 1991 then updated, but not yet approved by the Parliament—the replacement for Vittorio Veneto should be a “major multipurpose surface combatant, capable of performing command-and-control roles for maritime task groups, equipped with an embarked air component, and a landing force with amphibious ship-to-shore capabilities.” The main missions of the new planned vessel would be:
- Act as flagship for a significant portion of a joint army/navy amphibious brigade
- Execute landing operations within a national task group, which ensures anti-surface, antiair, and antisubmarine capabilities
- Participate in strategic amphibious operations within a maritime multinational task force
- Provide forward air defense and act as centerpiece for a naval task group
- Act in a command-and-control capacity for a forward-deployed national naval task group
These missions likely would be associated with peace-support operations (peacekeeping, peace making, and peace enforcement) under U.N. auspices and mandates. Such activities, which require enhanced command-and-control and prolonged sustainment capabilities, would require a multipurpose vessel.
Since an army/navy amphibious brigade has not been formally established, integration of the Army’s Serenissima Regiment and the Navy’s San Marco Group provides a basic model. The Serenissima Regiment includes a light infantry battalion (750 personnel) and an amphibious battalion (65 transport and fighting vehicles). A new amphibious brigade, formed by combining these forces, would parallel the capabilities of a Marine expeditionary unit, whose transport and operations require a naval group centered on a Wasp (LHD-1)- or Tarawa (LHA-l)-class platform that the Italian Navy cannot afford. Therefore, we should consider employment of an amphibious brigade as it has been structured previously, consisting of approximately 1,600 troops and 100 combat and transport vehicles. For the Italian Navy, this would require a lot of maritime assets, possibly including some merchant vessels.
To give an amphibious capability to the new multipurpose vessel, we can form from the army/navy amphibious brigade a mechanized amphibious group comprised of:
- An amphibious assault battalion, consisting of 500 troops
- Two armored tactical fire support companies (120 troops and 28 Centauro armored fighting vehicles)
- Two transport and fighting-vehicle companies (30 VCC-1 armored personnel carriers)
The new multipurpose ship should provide transport, landing, and fire support capabilities for such a group, in operational areas in and beyond the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, we also assume that such agroup would have a certain degree of combat sustainability ashore.
A possible ship-design solution that could meet both amphibious and air support requirements could come from an extensive conversion of a Garibaldi-class light aircraft carrier into a multipurpose major combatant vessel (MMCV), to match the operational and technical capabilities of a light carrier and an LPD- type amphibious vessel, with both a well deck and flight deck.
Design Approach and Platform Characteristics
The air capabilities of the new MMCV are related to both amphibious and air- defense roles and dictate the structure of her embarked air component. Aviation facilities should be able to operate an 18-aircraft component, with the best mix including eight AV-8B Harrier II Plus short take-off/vertical landing fixed-wing aircraft and ten EH-101 helicopters. This configuration could change with the primary mission (air defense or amphibious), but there is adequate balance to carry out a wide variety of roles. In addition, the helicopter component can be reconfigured easily to execute both vertical assault and antisurface/antisubmarine (ASuW/ASW) operations because the EH-101 is available in several variants. To transport the landing force ashore, we employ both landing craft and helicopters, and thus envision four out of ten embarked helicopters equipped as utility variants, each capable of transporting 30 troops or 2.7 tons of equipment. Such a configuration allows the helicopters to move ashore rapidly a 120-troop first assault wave, then embark another assault wave and its logistical support for transport ashore without refueling.
The concept of operations for the modem shipborne helicopters calls for a rapid reconfiguration of the aircraft to perform a variety of functions. In the case of the EH-101, its primary ASW function can be converted to an antiship role by equipping the helicopter with air-to-surface missiles. The ship’s overall ASuW capabilities also are enhanced if we assume that Harrier IIs can be equipped with antiship missiles. It is conceivable then that the new MMCV can be employed for the sea-control mission without being equipped with surface-to-surface missiles, similar to the U.S. Navy’s, whose carriers and amphibious assault ships are not equipped with surface-to-surface missiles either. This capability is provided by the escorts in the task force.
A similar philosophy is applicable in ASW operations. The new MMCV could easily give up a sophisticated ASW component (torpedo launchers, low-frequency sonar, and related ancillary equipment) by integrating the capabilities provided by the escorts in the same sector. In such a global context, one needs to develop some form of cooperative-engagement capability in order to maximize the potential of the several ASW assets available in the task group formed by the MMCV and her escorts.
To define the hangar size, one assumes that a portion of the air component (2 helicopters for ASW/ASuW missions and 4 Harrier IIs Plus on combat air patrol alert) will be parked on the flight deck while 12 aircraft are stowed in the hangar bay (4 Harrier IIs Plus and 8 helicopters). Such a pattern requires a 130-meter long by 16-meter wide hangar, with two elevators properly placed to move the aircraft to the flight deck rapidly. This arrangement can be tailored to meet specific mission requirements.
An amphibious component as defined above seriously affects the configuration of the new MMCV’s stern section, which is almost totally devoted to a well deck. We also assume that we will have Centauro armored fighting vehicles immediately available ashore to support the landing force. Unfortunately, the landing craft (called MTMs) currently in service in the Italian Navy are capable of carrying only one Centauro or two VCC-l-type armored personnel carriers. Accordingly, a requirement for at least six MTMs arises, so that the first assault helicopter-borne wave could be supported by either 6 Centauros or 12 VCC-1s, or a combination of both. Moreover, the well deck should be designed to provide a sufficient level of flexibility for the MTMs by having 4 of them in the wet section and 2 in the dry one, the latter linked to the garage deck. To meet these global amphibious requirements we will need a well deck with a width of 14 meters and a length of 40 meters, plus 20 meters for the dry section. Considering the MTMs’ mooring and support facilities, the MMCV should have a 30-meter-wide hull.
To accommodate amphibious and air requirements, two major modifications of the Garibaldi's hull must be made. The well and garage decks should be below the hangar deck. This requires lengthening the hull with a 10-meter-long section. In this configuration, we obtain a seven-deck vertically divided hull, which has the following dimensions: length between perpendiculars, 180 meters; maximum width, 30 meters; depth, 21.3 meters. Taking into account these dimensional modifications, full-load displacement (18,000 tons) is a 25% increase over the Garibaldi's.
The insertion of a hull-long deck below the hangar provides a large area capable of parking combat vehicles and positioning troops and for crew accommodations. In addition, a reduction in some weapon systems presently installed in the Garibaldi, a different island configuration, and a general decrease in manning could meet the greater internal volume required by the enlarged air component and the new amphibious capabilities. The Garibaldi has a complement of 900, but is generally overmanned compared with foreign warships of similar size. This being the case, the complement of the MMCV should not exceed 1,600 personnel.
The propulsion machinery of the new MMCV stems from defined operational weight and volume requirements. Because credibility and operational effectiveness of a mechanized amphibious group are strictly related to its readiness, the same is true for its carrier platform. A maximum speed of 29 knots therefore has been chosen to meet such requirements, thus the MMCV’s dimensions require a 100,000 hp maximum power. A combined gas turbine and gas (COGAG) plant is seen as the best possible solution, with four gas turbines (GTs) and two shafts (a pair of GTs driving each shaft). Concerning the choice for gas turbines, two configurations are available; the first envisions four LM 2500 GTs, each rated at 27,500 hp, while the second envisions four WR 21-type regenerative-cycle GTs. The WR 21-type turbine is currently undergoing evaluation and testing and likely could be adopted for the new Horizon- class frigates, jointly developed by Italy, France, and the United Kingdom; this GT has a maximum power of 29,000 hp, four of them totalling 116,000 hp. The adoption of four WR 21-type GTs will therefore allow the margin of power that could be needed to counter possible variations in the initial design and calculation phase, and to run them at an optimal rate. Finally, the adoption of two independent gas uptakes (one for each pair of GTs) enhances survivability and mobility of the MMCV and better exploits the vessel’s island spaces.
Weapon System and Electronic Suite
The flexibility of the embarked air wing proposed for the new MMCV provides a wide range of operational capabilities, such as forward air defense, strike, ASW, and ASuW missions. Therefore, the MMCVs own weapon system is largely focused on defense against air and missile threats, while a concept of close integration of the MMCV’s and her escorts’ weapon components should be pursued. The MMCV’s missile antiair component consists of two Aster 15/30 vertically launched missile systems (24 cells each, placed at the forward and after ends of the island, totaling 48 missiles), while the gun antiair component includes three 76/62-mm Super Rapido single mounts. Aster missile system modularity allows installation of additional 8-cell modules in sponsons placed at the flight deck edges. The Super Rapido guns would be cued to several Dardo-E fire control systems placed in the island. The electronic suite would be structured around sensors that are undergoing evaluation tests (such as the EMPAR multifunction phased array radar) and systems already installed in many other Italian major combatants (such as a three-dimensional, long and medium-range air and surface surveillance radars). Moreover, the new MMCV should be equipped with an adequate command-and-control system, to meet the requirement to perform flag missions within a task group that likely could be part of a larger multinational task force.
Final Remarks
A new MMCV is not the ultimate solution for the Italian Navy. It is, however, a technical and operational consideration within the general debate now in progress about roles, missions, and configuration of the second major combatant and replacement for the aging cruiser Vittorio Veneto. A number of financial implications also have to be carefully addressed, because they are linked closely to the overall context of the Italian defense budget and must take into account some other major procurement programs (e.g., the Navy-sponsored Project Horizon and the Air Force- sponsored Eurofighter). These programs cannot, however, fail to consider the future scenarios where the Italian Navy probably will operate, bearing in mind the possibility of executing a greater range of missions within multinational formations without downplaying the need to undertake autonomous diplomatic and political initiatives through forward naval presence in relevant areas away from home waters.
Commander Cosentino graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1974. He is assigned to NATO Headquarters as the Italian military representative, dealing with plans and policies.