The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, has declared that the destroyer ITS Caio Duilio (D554) will be part of the European mission Aspides, aimed at protecting merchant vessels transiting the Red Sea against the threat of the Houthis.
The destroyer Caio Duilio left the La Spezia base on January 28 and is heading towards the Red Sea.
Launched in 2007, the destroyer Caio Duilio is a multi-role unit with prominent anti-aircraft characteristics: the ship has significantly superior performance in this regard compared to previous fighters in service, being capable of monitoring over 500,000 km² of space with its onboard sensors and having its weapons able to intervene in over 30,000 km². It is no coincidence that this unit is being sent to the Red Sea, as the threat in this area is almost exclusively represented by missiles or drones launched by the Houthis against passing ships.
However, Italian commitment does not end here. Several journalistic sources report that the Italian Air Force will deploy, probably in Djibouti, one of its two Gulfstream E.550 CAEW with the aim of alerting naval units of missile launches as soon as they occur. Thanks to its sensors, the CAEW can engage multiple targets simultaneously, providing greater coverage than ship radars, especially against low-flying threats.
Finally, although assigned to the anti-piracy mission Atlanta, the frigate ITS Federico Martinengo (F 596) also remains in the area, ready to intervene if requested and if necessary.