Written by D-Mitch
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| The four vessels in the Horizon class in formation |
The Horizon/Orrizonte class destroyers is a class of four hich-tech stealth Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) ships which were commissioned the period 2008-2009 in French Navy (Marine Nationale) and Italian Navy (Marina Militare Italiana). Two ships were built for each navy, under a multi-national collaboration between the two countries, the Horizon SAS. Horizon SAS was a temporary consortium of companies between Italy and France (50% Italy - 50% France) provided by Orrizonte Sistemi Navali (joint venture between Fincantieri and Finmeccanica) and Armaris (joint venture between DCN and Thales). The project originally included also the United Kingdom however due to differing requirements from the Royal Navy for a heavier ship that can provide air defence to a fleet that operates in hostile waters, the United Kingdom proceeded alone to develop the Type 45 destroyer instead. The main differences in the requirements were in the Vertical Launching System (VLS) and the scanned array radar. Though four units were planned for each navy, only two were built for each one. The French vessels, Forbin and Chevalier Paul, replaced the two AAW vessels of Suffren class while the Italian vessels of the Andrea Doria class, Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio, replaced the two AAW vessels of Audace class. The armament and equipment are almost identical between the vessels in service with France and Italy. The class carries a variety of weapons and electronic equipment and it is capable for any kind of mission. Great emphasis was given on the stealth performance and thus tilted superstructures, composite materials and special coatings contribute to a very small radar signature.
