Solemn Ceremony in Trieste: the Presentation of the Combat Flag to Nave Trieste

On Sunday, October 26, 2025, the San Giusto and San Giorgio docks of the port of Trieste will host a significant event for the Italian Navy: the presentation of the combat flag to Nave Trieste, the new multi-role amphibious assault unit of the national fleet.

Nave Trieste: Multi-role Amphibious Assault Unit – Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) Class

The ongoing renewal of the Italian fleet generates significant benefits for the national shipbuilding industry and the local economy, confirming the central role of the Navy in promoting the well-being and prosperity of the Country System.

In this context, Nave Trieste is introduced, a Multi-role Amphibious Assault Unit (LHD – Landing Helicopter Dock), the first of its kind entirely built by the Italian shipbuilding industry. It is a technological excellence that integrates advanced projection capabilities, amphibious operations, and prolonged logistical autonomy, representing a milestone of great strategic and industrial value.

With over 1000 berths, a flight deck of about 230 meters, and the capacity to transport and support a battalion of 600 riflemen, Nave Trieste is the largest unit ever built for the Navy since World War II. The garage deck has 1,200 linear meters for wheeled and tracked vehicles, both civilian and military, consolidating the ship as a strategic and logistical support platform.

Thanks to a large internal floodable dock, Nave Trieste can operate as a mobile base for landing operations, projecting amphibious forces even beyond the horizon and ensuring wide flexibility in complex operational contexts.

The unit is organically and operationally dependent, through the Third Naval Division (COMDINAV TRE), on the Commander in Chief of the Naval Squadron (CINCNAV).

Technology, Versatility, and Operational Capabilities

Nave Trieste represents the best of Italian naval technology, integrating capabilities for troop transport, logistical support, air operations, C4I coordination, and advanced healthcare assistance. It is equipped with an onboard hospital with operating rooms, radiology, analysis laboratories, dental service, and an area for 27 severe cases, expandable through containerized modules.

The unit can operate as an Alternate Carrier Vessel, suitable to support the 5th generation aerotactical component based on F-35B aircraft, thus enhancing the overall capability of the Navy in the air-naval domain.

Nave Trieste is also the flagship of the Amphibious Task Group (ATG), which together with the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) with flagship Nave Cavour forms the Expeditionary Task Force (ETF) — the operational component of the Italian Naval Squadron.

A Ship for Defense and Solidarity

Designed for crisis scenarios and force projection, Nave Trieste can adapt to a variety of missions: from military support to humanitarian emergency management. In collaboration with the Civil Protection, it can provide healthcare, drinking water, electricity, and logistical support in case of natural disasters or international crises.

As an Amphibious Assault Unit, it can host the command staffs provided by amphibious doctrine — Commander Amphibious Task Force (CATF) and Commander Landing Force (CLF) — conducting ship-to-shore operations even beyond 24 miles from the coast.

With Nave Trieste, Italy strengthens its position among the nations capable of effectively operating in complex amphibious scenarios, ensuring flexibility, rapid intervention, and global response capability.

The ceremony on October 26, 2025, in Trieste, besides being a tribute to the Italian maritime tradition, also celebrates the ingenuity, dedication, and industrial excellence of the country.
In the solemn silence of the port, Nave Trieste will receive its combat flag, a tangible sign of the union between military honor and technological progress in the service of the Nation.