From May 29 to June 11, 2025, the Italian Navy ship Giovanni delle Bande Nere (P434) —the first Multi Purpose Combat Ship (PPA) in Full configuration—represented Italy in POLARIS 25, one of the largest naval-air exercises in Europe. Organized and conducted in all its phases by the French Navy (Marine Nationale), the exercise was designed to train participating forces in conducting operations within high-intensity, multi-domain simulated scenarios.
The training activity involved over 3,000 military personnel, more than 20 naval units, 40 aircraft, and numerous joint and multinational assets, operating across a vast area between the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. In this realistic and complex context, the Italian Navy provided a significant contribution through the deployment of a highly advanced and technologically sophisticated asset.
“Participation in POLARIS 25 represented a truly valuable test for the entire crew, an opportunity to confirm the high operational and technological capabilities of the Navy’s most modern PPA. This exercise, the second one in the Atlantic since the start of our out-of-area deployment after Formidable Shield in the Hebrides, took place in a more dynamic scenario, requiring us to closely test the ship’s active and passive sensors—starting with the use of ATAS, our variable-depth sonar system for detecting underwater threats,” stated the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Claudia de Cesare.
Giovanni delle Bande Nere took part in the sea-based tactical phase of the exercise, known as the TACEX phase, during which two opposing naval forces engaged in open-sea operations simulating an escalation from crisis to conflict. The exercise was overseen by an advanced exercise control structure, which, among this year’s innovations, included the embarkation of a Trusted Agent (TA) from the French Navy as a support and monitoring cell for sea-based activities.
POLARIS 25 integrated operations across traditional domains, with a particular focus on the underwater dimension—serving as a real testing ground for emerging technologies and the development of integrated procedures. Italy’s contribution, represented by Giovanni delle Bande Nere, reaffirmed the Italian Navy’s commitment to achieving key shared objectives of the exercise, including collective deterrence, NATO-level interoperability, and maritime security projection.
In a geopolitical context of growing maritime strategic ambition, exercises like POLARIS 25 underscore the importance of joint commitment among allied navies and the adaptive, integrated, and coordinated response capabilities of modern naval forces.
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