 Caio Duilio on 10 June 2010 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Italy | |
| Name | Caio Duilio |
| Namesake | Gaius Duilius |
| Ordered | 27 October 2000 |
| Builder | Horizon Sas andFincantieri.Riva Trigoso andMuggiano shipyards. |
| Laid down | 19 September 2003 |
| Launched | 23 October 2007 |
| Commissioned | 3 April 2009 |
| In service | 22 September 2011 |
| Homeport | La Spezia |
| Identification |
|
| Motto | Nomen Numen |
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Orizzonte-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 152.9 m (501 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 20.3 m (66 ft 7 in) |
| Draft | 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Endurance | 45 days |
| Capacity | Accommodations for 255 |
| Complement |
|
| Crew | 193 + 37 Staff includingBoarding/Security and Flight teams |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried |
|
Caio Duilio is adestroyer of theItalian Navy. She and her sisterItalian destroyer Andrea Doria form theAndrea Doria class; in turn these two ships, and the French vesselsForbin andChevalier Paul, belong to theHorizon class.Caio Duiliois marked byhull number D 554 according toNATO classification.
The ship takes her name from the 3rd century BCRoman leader and admiralGaius Duilius (Caio Duilio in Italian). Duilius ordered the construction of 120 ships that were armed with hooked bridges calledcorvus,Latin for “crow”. This innovation allowed the Romans to defeat the powerful enemy fleet ofCarthage transforming the naval battle into a melee combat.
After the victory over the Carthaginians at theBattle of Mylae in 260 BC, Duilius was honored with atriumphal parade and the erection in the Roman Forum of a column adorned with the beaks of captured Carthaginian warships; the column both became his symbol and appears today in thecoat of arms of the ship.
The destroyerCaio Duilio is the fourthItalian warship with this historical name. The first, theironcladDuilio, was commissioned in 1886 and served until 1909. Fitted with the largest guns available, 100-ton 450 mm calibre muzzle-loading guns, she was regarded as the most powerful warship afloat in her day. The second unit, theAndrea Doria-class battleshipDuilio, was commissioned on 24 April 1913 and was subsequently refitted in 1937, serving in theRegia Marina duringWorld War I andWorld War II; while the third, theAndrea Doria-classmissile cruiserItalian cruiser Caio Duilio, was commissioned in 1960 and served until 1990 during the Cold War.Caio Duilio was launched on October 23, 2007 and transported toMuggiano shipyard on October 29 for the mounting of the combat system.
Caio Duilio's motto refers to the ancient Roman tradition, in which the name acquires religious connotations. Some ancient fragments point up this intimate meaning. "Nomen Numen" can be translated as "the name means power".
Caio Duilio is a multirole ship, with a bias towardsanti-aircraft warfare (the ship is much more capable in this role than the older destroyers) and short and medium-range defence capabilities. She is also highly capable inanti-submarine andanti-surface warfare.
The ship has been designed to take and operate withRotary wing aircraft (AW101 andNH-90) of much higher performance and more autonomy than previous generation helicopters. The handling of wheeled helicopters on theflight deck is guaranteed up to sea state 6 by the semi-automatic Canadian system TC-ASIST[2] of Indal Technologies committing to these operations a single operator.
By type of ship and technology aboardCaio Duiliois able to cover a broad spectrum of maritime activities, ranging from high-intensity military operations to Maritime Security operations. The missions that the unit can perform are:
The ship was designed to be as little detectable by radar as possible, by usingstealth technology for thehull andsuperstructure. Sea-keeping in unfavorable weather conditions is granted by two pairs ofstabilizers.
Theacoustic signature was also reduced with an appropriate choice of machinery and engineering solutions and verifying the intensity of the radiated noise, since the design phase. Equal attention has been directed in theinfrared (IR) signature branch, by lowering the temperature of engine gases through coaxial exhausts.
After the abandonment of the old system of command and control SADOC, which is used in the latest modernized version in theDurand de la Penne andMaestrale classes, an integrated type CMS (Command Management System)[3] based onLinux OS was installed by EuroSysNav. This is provided with 10 redundant servers and 24 consoles named MFC (Multi Function Console), of which 19 are located in the Primary CIC (Combat Information Centre), 3 in the secondary CIC in a remote area from the primary CIC, 1 in the Admiral CIC (for staff at the level ofCTF/CTG, equipped with special command support systems) and 1 in thebridge for theofficer of the watch.
With a MFC each operator, once logged in with own user name and password, can access to all relevanttactical data to his role and has also the possibility to use some common features such as watching the video ofcameras or of the IR system, the weapons engagement plan, the situation of thehardware andsoftware subsystems, the flight orders or the weather situation.Web-browsing allows a range of information going from messaging, data exchange with the Command Support System, the weather state and information pages of various kinds.
Once put the ships to escort and the relative priority in the CMS, the system automatically performs the control and the evaluation of dangerous of each air target, and suggests the possible engagement with missiles, artillery orjammers. The system can control up to 24Aster missiles simultaneously in flight, providing to operators the kill assessment.
There is also a training module that, under the supervision of an "Exercise Director", simulates of complex tactical situations by faithfully reproducing the capabilities of weapons and sensors on board. This allows conducting exercises which were previously possible only with the ship actually at sea.
For the first time in the history of the Italian Navy a ship is provided with an autonomousmeteorological andoceanographic system (Metoc), capable of launchingatmospheric balloons to makesonar,optical sensors andradar range prediction.
All subsystems, in integrated mode, operate directly managed by the CMS, but in case of battle damage can be managed locally, thus providing a combat Unity survival.
TheDCNS Multi-link system, to be replaced in next future with Elsag Datamat M-DLP (Multi Data Link Processor),[4] allows the simultaneous handling of multiple network links (withgateway andforwarding functions) ofLink 11,Link 16 type, on radio or onsatellite vector. These vectors, also for the voice comms, are fully integrated and managed by the CMS through the subsystem FICS (Fully Integrated Communications System)[5] byThales Communications.
The Platform Management System (PMS),[6] designed byDCNS, allows to command and monitor machinery, electrical equipment, auxiliary services and security services. The entire system can be managed by a simplelaptop but it has its own dedicated consoles in the Operative Platform Office, in the two Security Control Posts (fore and aft), on the bridge and in every technical areas.
The unit's hull is divided into two vulnerability areas by a doublebulkhead and acofferdam to improve anti-fire and anti-flooding characteristics. Each vulnerability area is in turn formed by two security zones divided intowatertight compartments that provide buoyancy with three adjacent compartments flooded. Many systems, both of the platform than of the combat system, are duplicated so that each vulnerability area is independent by the other.
Most of the rooms are equipped with automatic fire and smoke detection systems. Moreover every room is equipped with sprinklers for water, for the additive F-500[7] (higher performance compared to the foam) orCO2 extinguisher systems. These, unlike the previous generation units, are activated remotely from Security Post by the PMS.
For what concernsCBRN (Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) warfare, there are a specially dedicated decontamination station, a series of new generation sensors for such hazards detection disseminated throughout the ship[8] and an external prewashing facility.
The propulsion system consists of twocontrollable pitch propellers, which can be coupled independently of each other, viagear couplings, with a diesel engine or a gas turbine in a typicalCODOG configuration. The manoeuvrability is provided by a pair of rudders and an electric powered bow thruster.
The daily production of drinking water is 50m³ because of two installedreverse osmosisdesalinators.
On February 12, 2008Caio Duilio performed her firstsea trial and was accepted into the Italian Navy on April 3, 2009.Caio Duilio is the only destroyer based atLa Spezia, flagship of the Commander of First Naval Group (COMGRUPNAV 1). She took part, together withAndrea Doria andFrench shipsForbin andChevalier Paul, in a jointexercise which brought together the wholeHorizon class on May 5, 2009 in theGulf of La Spezia.Caio Duilio was, along with the aircraft carrierCavour and the training shipAmerigo Vespucci, one of the ships visitable inCivitavecchia harbour on the Day of the Unification of Italy and the Armed Forces on November 4, 2009.[9]
She participated in the naval parades for the celebrations of the Italian Navy Day atNaples on June 10, 2010[10] and at La Spezia on June 10, 2011,[11] in the presence ofPresidentGiorgio Napolitano.
During the development of many complex systems on board, and during the trials that led her many times in the Naval Station ofTaranto, she made her debut in the international arena duringNATO exercise Proud Manta 2011[12] from February 4 to February 17, 2011, in the waters of theIonian Sea, even before the delivery of theBattle Ensign (that took place inGaeta on September 22, 2011),[13] working together with ships, submarines and aircraft of nine allied nations.
On March 2, 2024Caio Duilio, in her role offlagship ofOperation Aspides,[14] the vessel shot down adrone launched byHouthi rebels in theRed Sea using her76 mm main gun.[15] The drone, with characteristics similar to those used in previous attacks, was located about six kilometres (3.7 mi) from the Italian ship, flying towards it.[16]
On the 12th of March 2024 Caio Duilio shot down another 2 enemy drones while protecting civilian ships.[17]
On 7 September 2025,Caio Duilio participated in a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) withINS Surat (D69) of theIndian Navy.[18][19]
