Peruvian Navy frigate BAPCarvajal participating in Southern Seas 2010
Class overview
Name	Lupo class
Builders	Cantieri Navali Riuniti (CNR) Fincantieri SIMA
Operators	Italian Navy (former)  Peruvian Navy  Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela
Preceded by	Alpino class
Succeeded by	Maestrale class
Subclasses	Carvajal class Mariscal Sucre class Artigliere (Soldati) class
In commission	1977
Planned	18
Completed	18
Active	10
Laid up	5
Retired	8
Scrapped	3
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile frigate
Displacement	2.506 t (2.466 long tons) full load
Length	113.2 m (371 ft)LOA
Beam	11.3 m (37 ft)
Draft	3.7 m (12 ft)
Propulsion	-CODOG scheme - 2 x shaft - 2 xGE / Fiat LM2500gas turbines 50,000 shp (37,000 kW) - 2 xdiesel enginesGrandi Motori Trieste GMT A230-20diesel engines 7,800 shp (5.8 MW) - 4 xdiesel engine generatorsGrandi Motori Trieste GMT 236SS, 3,000 kW (4,000 shp)
Speed	35 kn (65 km/h) with gas turbines 21 kn (39 km/h) with diesels
Range	4,300 nmi (8,000 km) at 16 kn (30 km/h)
Complement	185 (20 officers)
Sensors & processing systems	-Selenia SADOC 2 combat management system - 1 xSelenia SPS-774 (RAN-10S) early warning radar - 1 xSelenia SPQ-2F CORA OTH surface search radar - 1 xSelenia SPS-702 (or RAN-11L/X) air/surface search radar - 1 xSelenia SPG-70 (RTN-10X) fire control radar - 1 xRaytheon Mk 95 fire control radar - 2 xSelenia SPG-74 (RTN-20X) fire control radar - 1 x GEM Elettronica AN/SPN-748 navigation radar -Raytheon DE 1160B (SQS-56) hull sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	- SLR-4ESM system - SLQ-DECM system -AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo decoy - 2 xBredaSCLAR decoy launchers
Armament	- 8 xOtomat Mk 2SSMs - 1 x Mk.29 octuple launcher forSea Sparrow/AspideSAM - 2 xMark 32 triple torpedo tubes - 1 xOTO Melara127/54 mm gun - 2 xOTO Melara Twin 40L70DARDO compact gun
Aircraft carried	1AB-212ASWhelicopter
Aviation facilities	Flight deck: 25.2 m × 11.3 m (83 ft × 37 ft) Telescopic hangar for 1 medium helicopter.

TheLupo class is aclass offrigates built byCantieri Navali Riuniti (CNR) for theItalian Navy. Designed as multipurposewarships with an emphasis onanti-surface warfare (ASuW), they have enjoyed some success in the export market, being acquired by the navies ofPeru andVenezuela. A small run of a slightly updated version is known as theSoldati class.

In the early 1970s, theItalian Navy faced an increasedSoviet naval presence in theMediterranean Sea which constituted a threat to itssea lines of communication as well as to its extensive coastline. To parry this menace,Italy started a naval expansion program which includedfrigates focused onASuW (Lupo class) and onASW (Maestrale class).^{[citation needed]}

For the first part of the requirement, CNR presented a design for a 2,500-ton frigate with a high speed and a heavy weapons load. The ship employed aCODOGpropulsion plant to achieve 35 knots, making it one of the fastest warships at the time. Armament included 8 SSMs, 8 SAMs, several gun systems, 2 tripletorpedo tubes and anASW helicopter, which was equivalent to that carried by larger warships.Lupo-classfrigates have a crew of around 200.^{[citation needed]}

TheItalian Navycommissioned fourLupo-class frigates between 1977 and 1980. These ships were deployed to thePersian Gulf first as escorts fortankers during the last stages of theIran–Iraq War (1987–1988) and then as part of the Coalition forces during the 1990–1991Gulf War. After these operations, the whole class underwent modernization which included fitting an SPS-702 CORA surface search radar andSATCOM equipment. After two decades in service, the four ItalianLupo-class frigates weredecommissioned and sold to Peru in the early 2000s.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996 four newLupo-class frigates which had been built for Iraq in 1985–87, were incorporated into theItalian Navy as theArtigliere class. These ships feature a telescopic hangar; they were refitted as patrol ships and changes made for Italian service included the removal of all ASW equipment. The four ships areArtigliere ("artilleryman" - pennant F 582),Aviere ("airman" - F 583),Bersagliere ("sharpshooter" - F 584) andGranatiere ("grenadier" - F 585), and are used in fleet escort or long-range patrolling duties.^{[citation needed]}

Italian NavyLupo class
Pennant number	Ship	Builder	Hull number	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Motto	Fate
F 564	Lupo	Cantieri Navali Riuniti,Riva Trigoso	300	11 October 1974	29 July 1976	12 September 1977	Fulmineo sulla preda	Transferred to Peru, renamedPalacios
F 565	Sagittario		301	4 February 1976	22 June 1977	18 November 1978	Non cohibetur sagitta	Transferred to Peru, renamedQuiñones
F 566	Perseo		302	28 February 1977	12 July 1978	1 March 1980	Vincerà chi vorrà vincere	Transferred to Peru, renamedCoronel Bolognesi
F 567	Orsa	Cantieri Navali Riuniti,Muggiano	303	1 August 1977	1 March 1979	1 March 1980	Fortitude Fortior	Transferred to Peru, renamedAguirre

Iraq ordered fourLupo-class frigates from CNR in 1980 as part of a naval expansion program just before theIran–Iraq War.^[1] These ships, which feature a telescopic hangar were completed between 1985 and 1987. Due to restrictions on arm sales to Iraq because of the Iran-Iraq War placed by the Italian prime ministerBettino Craxi, the ships remained interned in Italy until the end of that war in 1988. Iraqi PresidentSaddam Hussein then tried to renegotiate the price of these ships (and the other ships purchased from Italy), claiming he should receive a discount due to the delay in delivery of the ships.^[1] Negotiations and court proceedings were still ongoing when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 and a new arms embargo against Iraq was placed by the United Nations, again blocking the sale.^[1] In 1993 all of them were seized and, after being refitted as patrol ships, incorporated to theItalian Navy as the Soldati class in 1996. Changes made for Italian service included the removal of all ASW equipment. The four ships areArtigliere (pennant F 582),Aviere (F 583),Bersagliere (F 584) andGranatiere (F 585), and are used in fleet escort or long range patrolling duties. The Philippines considered acquiring the Soldati class in 2012.^[2]

F582 and F584 wete scrapped in Aliaga in 2024.^[3]

Italian NavySoldati class
Pennant number	Ship	Builder	Hull number	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Motto
F 582	Artigliere (ex-Hittin)	Fincantieri,Ancona	903	31 March 1982	27 July 1983	28 October 1994	13 December 2013	Primi Velitum
F 583	Aviere (ex-Thi Qar)		904	3 September 1982	19 December 1984	4 January 1995	2 October 2019	Virtute Siderum Tenus
F 584	Bersagliere (ex-Al Yarmouk)	Fincantieri,Riva Trigoso	905	12 March 1984	18 April 1985	8 November 1995	17 April 2018[4]	Pro Patria
F 585	Granatiere (ex-Al Qadisiya)	Fincantieri,Ancona	906	1 December 1983	1 June 1985	20 March 1996	30 September 2015	A me le guardie

Peru became involved early in theLupo-class frigate program, ordering four ships in 1973. The Peruvian ships were built to a modified design which included different radars,Aspide instead ofSea Sparrow SAMs, and a fixed instead of a telescopic hangar. The first two were built by CNR at its shipyard in Riva Trigoso,Genoa, andcommissioned in 1979.

Construction work for the second pair was carried out under license bySIMA (Servicio Industrial de la Marina, Navy Industrial Service) atCallao, with the ships commissioning in 1984 and 1987. Of the PeruvianLupos,BAP Carvajal (FM-51),BAP Mariátegui (FM-54),BAP Villavicencio (FM-52) andBAP Montero (nowBAP Almirante Grau) (FM-53) had their flight decks extended to allowASH-3D Sea King helicopters to land and refuel, even though they cannot be housed in the ship's hangar.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2004 other ex-ItalianLupo-class vessels were incorporated into the Peruvian Navy:BAP Aguirre (FM-55) (ex-Orsa) andBAP Palacios (FM-56) (ex-Lupo).Finally in August 2006 the last ItalianLupo ships arrived in Callao:BAP Quiñones (FM-58) andBAP Bolognesi (FM-57). In 2013,Carvajal was transferred to thePeruvian Coast Guard and renamedGuardiamarina San Martin.^[5]

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Venezuela ordered sixLupo-class frigates from CNR in 1975 as a replacement for older warships. These units were commissioned between 1980 and 1982. In general terms, their appearance and equipment is similar to those built for Peru, except for some differences in electronics and missiles. The first two ships,ARV Mariscal Sucre (F-21) andARV Almirante Brión (F-22) were upgraded byIngalls Shipbuilding over a four years period (1998–2002). Modifications of these two ships included:^{[citation needed]}

• Fitting ofElbit NTCS 2000 combat management system
• Fitting ofEltaEL/M-2238 Single Face STAR 3D air/surface radar
• Fitting ofNorthrop Grumman 21 HS-7 hull sonar
• Fitting ofElisra NS-9003ESM system
• Fitting of Elisra NS-9005ECM system
• Replacement of 2 GMT A230-20M diesel engines with 2 MTU 20V 1163.

The other ships in Venezuelan service were expected to undergo an austere version of this upgrade, but three ships were eventually taken out of service. As of December 2022, however, theMariscal Sucre has been observed to be partially sunk alongside the partially scrappedGeneral Soublette.^[6]

• List of frigate classes by country

Equivalent frigates of the same era

• Wielingen class
• Koni class
• Type 21
• Type 053
• Almirante Padilla class
• Ulsan class

• Faulkner, Keith,Jane's Warship Recognition Guide. 2nd edition. Jane's Information Group, 1999.
• (in Spanish) Rodríguez, John, "Las fragatas Lupo: una breve mirada retrospectiva y perspectivas".Revista de Marina, Year 95, No. 3: 8–32 (July / December 2002).

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• GlobalSecurity.org
• Naval-Technology.com

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• Frigates of the Italian Navy
• CODOG ships

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