Italian Navy Frigate Luigi Rizzo Completes ScanEagle UAV Acceptance Trials

Original article in Italian here. Translated via Google Translate

Nov 13, 2024 Frigate Luigi Rizzo has recently completed the acceptance activities of the ScanEagle remotely piloted aircraft by the Navy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, thus increasing the operational capabilities of the armed force and confirming its commitment to continuous technological innovation.

After an initial and intense period of work stoppage spent by the FREMM at the Military Arsenal of La Spezia to allow for the installation of the new system, the military pilots and qualified maintainers employed to form the first Remotely Piloted Aircraft Section of the Navy (SEZAPRM) of the Rizzo vessel took advantage of the sea trials to integrate with the on-board crew. This allowed them to test the new operating procedures and the organization of the Unit to be implemented in the near future during the employment of the ScanEagle.

The synergy and sharing of intent recorded between the personnel of Nave Rizzo and the same specialists in force at the UAV Department of the Naval Squadron Air Force Command – supported for the occasion by the engineers and technicians of the INSITU company, the manufacturer of the aircraft – which characterized the intense days of preparation and planning of the activities, have in fact led to the first “green light on the bridge” so as to be able to test the command and control capabilities of the drone from the naval unit during the on-task period, as well as being able to verify its actual capabilities for launching and recovering from board, in line with the technical specifications required by the Navy.

The ScanEagle is equipped with advanced sensors and, thanks to its light weight, high autonomy and precision, it allows for long-distance reconnaissance missions, significantly increasing the naval unit’s surveillance capability.

As evidence of the versatility of the FREMM class units and in light of an international context that sees unmanned systems acquiring ever greater relevance, thanks to the milestone achieved during these important acceptance tests, the Luigi Rizzo vessel is now also ready to employ the ScanEagle system that will very soon lead it to further optimize the effectiveness, flexibility and safety of its operational activities, thus marking a further step forward in the evolutionary process of the Navy’s Maritime Situation Awareness capacity and in the role of the armed force itself within the international context.

Original article in Italian

La fregata Luigi Rizzo completa le prove di accettazione dell’UAV ScanEagle

Nov 13, 2024 Nave Luigi Rizzo ha recentemente ultimato nel Mar Tirreno le attività di accettazione del velivolo a pilotaggio remoto ScanEagle da parte della Marina Militare, incrementando così le capacità operative della forza armata e confermando il suo impegno verso la continua innovazione tecnologica.

Dopo un iniziale e intenso periodo di sosta lavori trascorso dalla FREMM presso l’Arsenale Militare della Spezia per consentire l’installazione del nuovo sistema, i piloti militari e i manutentori qualificati impiegati per costituire la prima Sezione Aeromobili a Pilotaggio Remoto della Marina (SEZAPRM) di Nave Rizzo hanno sfruttato l’occasione dei test in mare per integrarsi con l’equipaggio di bordo. Questo ha permesso di sperimentare le nuove procedure operative e l’organizzazione dell’Unità da implementare nel prossimo futuro durante l’impiego dello ScanEagle.

La sinergia e la condivisione di intenti registrate tra il personale di Nave Rizzo e gli stessi specialisti in forza al Reparto UAV del Comando delle Forze Aeree della Squadra Navale – affiancati per l’occasione dagli ingegneri e tecnici della ditta INSITU, costruttrice del velivolo – che hanno caratterizzato gli intensi giorni di preparazione e pianificazione delle attività, hanno infatti portato al primo “verde al ponte” così da poter testare le capacità di comando e controllo del drone dall’unità navale durante il periodo di on task, oltre che a poterne verificare le effettive capacità per il lancio e recupero da bordo, in linea con le specifiche tecniche richieste dalla Marina Militare.

Lo ScanEagle è dotato di sensori avanzati e grazie alla sua leggerezza e all’elevata autonomia e precisione, permette di effettuare missioni di ricognizione a lunga distanza, aumentando in modo significativo la capacità di sorveglianza dell’unità navale.

A testimonianza della versatilità delle unità della classe FREMM e alla luce di un contesto internazionale che vede i sistemi unmanned acquisire sempre maggiore rilevanza, grazie al traguardo raggiunto durante questi importanti test di accettazione, anche nave Luigi Rizzo è ora pronta ad impiegare il sistema ScanEagle che la porterà molto presto ad ottimizzare ulteriormente l’efficacia, la flessibilità e la sicurezza delle proprie attività operative, segnando così un ulteriore passo in avanti nel processo evolutivo della capacità di Maritime Situation Awareness della Marina Militare e nel ruolo della stessa forza armata all’interno del contesto internazionale.

Related news

Insitu anticipates adding payloads to ScanEagle and Integrator, finds FLARES customer

June 07, 2024
Insitu anticipates adding payloads to ScanEagle and Integrator, finds FLARES customer Read the full article…
Read More

Related News

Insitu Announces Proliferated-Low Earth Orbit Satellite Control for Integrator UAS with 2,000 Nautical Mile Range

This capability enables Integrator to fly up to 2,000 Nautical Miles (NM) point-to-point with 27.5 hours of endurance, the longest range/endurance of any small UAS in its class.

Read More »

Insitu’s keys for success in serving NATO Europe

Insitu Incorporated, a Boeing company, reached a milestone this year: 30 years of unmanned aircraft innovation excellence – and nearly 20 years of supporting NATO, helping it to project NATO power on land and at sea from the air. ESD’s Curtis Hand spoke with Insitu CEO Diane Rose about what is next for the company in terms of current and future operational theatres, warfare’s evolution, and new industrial partnerships and strategic alliances – all to strengthen NATO and its affiliates.

Read More »

Navy uses ScanEagle to support CFN in Operation Formosa for the first time

On September 10, the Marine Artillery Battalion (BtlArtFuzNav) and the 1st Remotely Piloted Aircraft Squadron (QE-1) carried out pioneering training in Field Artillery Fire Observation and Control using the RQ-1 Scan Eagle, during Operation “Formosa 2024”.

Read More »

Privacy Preference Center

Necessary

These cookies are necessary to enable core functionality of the website. Without these cookies the website can not function properly. These cookies are used to keep track of what cookies you've allowed, and whether you've dismissed the privacy bar.

gdpr[allowed_cookies], gdpr[consent_types], gdprprivacy_bar
vuid

Analytics

These cookies collect information and report about website usage statistics without personally identifying individual visitors to Google.

Tag Manager,Google Analytics