Defense, will the Garibaldi cruiser become a “spaceship”?
The Giuseppe Garibaldi will not retire and is preparing for a second life between experimentation and space activities. Here are facts and indiscretions in Francis Walsingham's study
The aircraft carrier cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi will lose the air component embarked between 2024 and 2025 with the complete withdrawal of the current line of Harrier II Plus fighter-bombers which ensure the air defense of the Naval Squad and the ability to attack.
By 2025 the Garibaldi will have completed forty years of uninterrupted activity, having entered the line back in 1985 with the setting of the keel in 1979.
In these almost forty years the Garibaldi has been used as a helicopter carrier for anti-submarine combat, light aircraft carrier and amphibious assault helicopter carrier, as well as command ship. It was born as a unit equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missile armament, equipment for hunting submarines and for point defense. Unlike the contemporary Principe de Asturias of the Armada Espanola and the three Invincible class units of the Royal Navy, all of which ended up in demolition, the Garibaldi remained in line, with constant updating cycles. Today it lacks the Teseo Mk 2 anti-ship missiles originally installed in eight units; the Albatross / Aspide anti-aircraft defense system is also at the end of its operational life and the next landing of the two octuple launchers and the re-use of the underlying warehouses currently occupied by the reloading mechanism are foreseeable.
For that time, the tasks carried out so far by Garibaldi will be taken on at full capacity by the LHD Trieste and the Cavour aircraft carrier, which should have a sufficient number of F-35Bs declared operational on line.
But in the intentions of the Navy and Defense General Staff it seems that the "great old man" will not retire. In fact, a second life is outlined for the old cruiser, more experimental than operational. It seems that it was chosen to become a mobile naval platform to carry out launches of space vectors to place nano and / or micro satellites for military and civil uses into low orbit. This is the SIMONA project or Naval Orbiting System which is part of the National Military Research Plan. If the project goes to fruition, the ship will have to undergo major changes for the new task because it is one thing to operate as a light aircraft carrier or amphibious assault helicopter carrier, another as a space launch platform.
According to Rivista Italiana Difesa , the idea of using the Garibaldi to experiment with drones similar to what will happen in Turkey with TCG Anadolu, in China and in other countries is also gaining ground. The idea is certainly interesting but obviously it will be necessary to understand if it will be compatible with the transformation of the unit into a platform for launching rockets. Having such a unit implies the development of large UAV / UAS and UCAS capable of carrying out, in addition to the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions, also long-range patrol missions and even the surface contrast and the competition in the anti-submarine fight. . Means that, incidentally, are currently not available in Italy, with the Predators of the Air Force that will receive the necessary modifications to also bring air-to-ground armament for precision attacks.
A possible use as a drone carrier could extend the life of the Garibaldi before being transformed into a "spaceship". Obviously, such an idea must also be evaluated in terms of management and crew costs, considering that it is a ship designed with "ancient" criteria where the lever was king and there were no excessive recruitment problems. With Cavour, Trieste and new units at the door for the MM it could be a problem to manage another large platform, albeit with a reduced crew compared to today.
One thing is certain, Giuseppe Garibaldi will not retire and is preparing for a second life between experimentation and space activities.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/difesa-lincrociatore-garibaldi-diventera-una-nave-spaziale/ on Thu, 20 Jan 2022 17:31:31 +0000.