A new submarine for the Italian Navy has started sea trials in the Gulf of La Spezia prior to entering service later this year.

The submarine Romeo Romei is a Type U212A vessel 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.

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.