Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto was heard this morning, Thursday 1st February, at the joint Defense commissions of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. At the center of the face-to-face meeting will be the Italian supply of personnel and military vehicles of the Armed Forces which will be supplied by Rome to the European Union mission to guarantee the trade routes on the Red Sea. Continuous deployment of at least one ship in the Red Sea is expected for 12 months.

"The European Union has thus developed a series of options to start a new maritime security operation, Aspides, which should act in the Red Sea and part of the Persian Gulf. European military ships will carry out protection and escort tasks for shipping. The operation aims to create a deterrent mechanism to defend maritime traffic throughout the area, up to Suez. The European assets will include, for now, a minimum of three naval units, intelligence and logistical support, air Early Warning capability, protection cyber, satellite support and strategic communication in support of the so-called Information Warfare", said the Minister. 

"Italy -specified Crosetto- has arranged for the sending of a naval unit, a multi-mission frigate 'Virginio Fasan', which will then be replaced by the same class 'Federico Martinengo' which guarantees better knowledge of the operational situation and information in place and provides an umbrella of protection to Italian merchant shipping and that of direct national interest, also providing for close coordination" with the US "Prosperity Guardian" mission and the European "Atalanta".

On the same topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.