Audace-class Destroyer

The Audace-class Destroyers were two guided missile destroyers built for the Italian Navy during the Cold War. An improvement of the Impavido-class destroyers, these ships were designed for area air defence and also had a heavy gun armament. They were fitted with contemporary American radars and sonars, but also they were fitting, just as the next Italian ships, they fitted all the new weapons made by Italian industry of the time, such torpedoes, helicopters and guns. Also some indigenous radars were fitted.

Original Configuration

 * Type: Guided Missile Destroyer
 * Service Period: 1972-2006
 * Characteristics:
 * Length: 462 feet (140.82 meters)
 * Beam: 48 feet 2.8 inches (14.7 meters)
 * Draught: 14 feet 9.2 inches (4.5 meters)
 * Displacement: 4,554 tons (Full Load)
 * Crew: 380
 * Propulsion: 2 shaft geared steam turbines, 4 Foster Wheeler boilers providing 73,000 hp
 * Range: 4,000 miles (6,437.4 km/h) at 25 knots (46.3 km/h)
 * Speed: 33 knots 61.12 km/h)
 * Sensor Suite:
 * SPS-52 3-D air search radar
 * RAN20S 2-D air search radar
 * SPQ-2 air/surface search radar
 * 3M20 navigation radar
 * SPG-51 illumination radar x 2
 * RTN-10X gun fire control radar x 3
 * CWE610 hull sonar
 * SADOC-1 combat and communication system
 * Countermeasures:
 * Intercept arrays
 * SLQ-2B/C jammer
 * SCLAR decoy x 2
 * SLQ-25 Nixie
 * Armament:
 * 2 x Otobreda 127 mm gun
 * 4 x Oto Melara 76/62 mm Compact gun
 * 1 x Tartar SAM System
 * 2 x 324 mm triple torpedo launchers
 * 2 x 533 mm triple torpedo launchers
 * Aircraft Carried: 2 x Agusta-Bell AB-212 helicopters

Post 1987-1990 Refit Configuration

 * Type: Guided Missile Destroyer
 * Service Period: 1972-2006
 * Characteristics:
 * Length: 462 feet (140.82 meters)
 * Beam: 48 feet 2.8 inches (14.7 meters)
 * Draught: 14 feet 9.2 inches (4.5 meters)
 * Displacement: 4,554 tons (Full Load)
 * Crew: 380
 * Propulsion: 2 shaft geared steam turbines, 4 Foster Wheeler boilers providing 73,000 hp
 * Range: 4,000 miles (6,437.4 km/h) at 25 knots (46.3 km/h)
 * Speed: 33 knots 61.12 km/h)
 * Sensor Suite:
 * SPS-52 3-D air search radar
 * RAN20S 2-D air search radar
 * SPQ-2 air/surface search radar
 * 3M20 navigation radar
 * SPG-51 illumination radar x 2
 * RTN-10X gun fire control radar x 3
 * CWE610 hull sonar
 * SADOC-1 combat and communication system
 * Countermeasures:
 * Intercept arrays
 * SLQ-2B/C jammer
 * SCLAR decoy x 2
 * SLQ-25 Nixie
 * Armament:
 * 1 x Otobreda 127 mm gun
 * 4 x Oto Melara 76/62 mm Super Rapido gun
 * 1 x Mk.29 octuple launcher for Sea Sparrow/Selenia Aspide SAM
 * 1 x Mk 13 launcher with 40 Standard RIM-66B SM-1MR missiles
 * 8 x OTOMAT SSMs
 * 2 x 324 mm triple torpedo launchers
 * Aircraft Carried: 2 x Agusta-Bell AB-212 helicopters

Unit Run

 * ITS Audace (D551)
 * ITS Ardito (D550)