Italian Navy Starts Sea Trials Of Type U121A Submarine

The Italian Navy has started sea trials of its new Type U212A submarine prior to entering service later this year.

The submarine Romeo Romei is built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH and Fincantieri SpA under a joint program with Germany and will be the fourth such submarine in the Italian Navy, UPI reported Friday.

It's about 183.7 feet long, 22.9 feet in the beam, has a speed of 20 knots submerged.

The Romeo Romei was launched last July and is in its outfitting stage. Among its features are sensors that enable long-range 3D detection and stealth technologies.

"In the next few months, many other trials will be conducted in order to ensure high-accuracy and rigorous testing of all systems and equipment, as well as to evaluate the submarine performance," the Italian Navy said.