The Lerici class is a class of minehunters constructed by Intermarine SpA and owned and operated by the Italian Navy.

The class incorporates two subclasses: the first four ships are referred to specifically as the first series of the Lerici class, while eight more ships produced to a slightly modified design are known as second series Lericis or as the Gaeta class.
 

Lerici Class

The four Lerici class ships were launched from September 1982 through to April 1985, and were all commissioned into the Italian Navy during 1985.
 

Lerici class ships have a displacement of 620 tons full load, 50 metres (160 ft) long, 9.9 metres (32 ft) wide, and a draught of 2.6 metres (8.5 ft). The ships have a maximum speed of 14 knots, provided by a single diesel engine with a variable-pitch propeller. This speed is reduced to 6 knots for mine-warfare operations; three active rudders (small propellers or waterjets mounted in a unit which can rotate through 360 degrees) are used to keep the minehunters on station. The ships have a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km) at operational speed.

Each ship has a standard complement of 47, made up of 4 officers, 7 clearance divers, and 36 ratings. They are equipped with a hyperbaric chamber, Pluto remote-operated submersibles for mine investigation and clearance, and VDS FIAR SQQ-14 (IT) sonar. The ships are armed with a single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon.

Gaeta Class

The eight ships of the Second Series Lerici class, more commonly known as the Gaeta class, were all launched in the early 1990s, and were commissioned by May 1996. The Gaeta class is almost identical to the Lerici class: the main structural differences between the ships are that displacement of the latter is 77 tons greater, the hull is 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) longer, and the communications mast was moved from above the bridge to just forward of the exhaust funnel. The Gaetas also used an improved version of the VDS FIAR SQQ-14 (IT) sonar, which was fitted in 1991 to the four Lerici class ships, and are armed with two Oerlikons instead of one.