ENS ''Al-Galala'' (FFG 1002) is a

FREMM multipurpose frigate The FREMM (French: ''Frégate Européenne Multi-Mission''; Italian: ''Fregata Europea Multi-Missione''), which stands for "European multi-purpose frigate", is a Franco-Italian family of multi-purpose frigates designed by Naval Group and Fincanti ...

of the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy ( ar, القوات البحرية المصرية, El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, Egyptian Navy Forces), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy ...

. ''Al-Galala'' was originally constructed as the ''Carlo Bergamini''-class ''Spartaco Schergat'' before being acquired by Egypt and being renamed.

Development and design

Three original variants of the FREMM were proposed; an anti-submarine variant (ASW) and a general-purpose variant (GP) and a land-attack variant (AVT) to replace the existing classes of frigates within the French and Italian navies. A total of 27 FREMM were to be constructed - 17 for France and 10 for Italy - with additional aims to seek exports, however budget cuts and changing requirements has seen this number drop significantly for France, while the order for Italy remained unchanged. The land-attack variant (AVT) was subsequently cancelled. In 2020 and 2021 it was reported that Italy would sell all its FREMM-class frigates in the current production line (''Spartaco Schergat'' and ''Emilio Bianchi'') to Egypt. ''Spartaco Schergat'' was in the final stage of her sea trials while Emilio Bianchi would follow within one year. The deal reportedly also involved other military equipment and was worth 1.2 billion Euros. Some sensitive equipment was deleted from the original Italian design, including the EW suite’s jammers, NETTUNO-4100 RECM system and Thales Altesse CESM equipment. SATCOM antennas were also removed from the communication suite.

Construction and career

On 26 January 2019, the launching ceremony of the ship took place at the

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

plants in

Riva Trigoso Riva may refer to: People * Riva (surname) * Riva Castleman (1930–2014), American art historian, art curator and author * Riva Ganguly Das (born 1961), Indian diplomat * Riva (footballer), Brazilian former footballer Rivadávio Alves Pereir ...

. On December 31, Al-Galala arrived at Alexandria's naval base after Italy finished training the Egyptian crew on operating the ship, and it was ready for service. Al-Galala can provide protection to Egyptian economic sites like

Zohr Field The Zohr gas field is an offshore natural gas field located in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea. The field is located in the Shorouk concession, a concession with an area of which was won by Eni in 2013. The field is estimated to li ...

, and other fields in the Mediterranean or the red sea. It's also capable for anti submarine warfare, and anti ship warfare. It was reported that Italy would then order two additional FREMM frigates to replace those transferred to Egypt with the anticipated delivery of the replacements by 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Galala, FFG 1002 Ships built by Fincantieri 2019 ships Ships built in Italy Bergamini-class frigates (2011) Frigates of the Egyptian Navy