''Juan Carlos I'' is a multi-purpose
amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
-
aircraft carrier in the
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
(''Armada Española''). Similar in role to many aircraft carriers, the amphibious landing ship has a
ski jump
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
for
STOVL
A short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL aircraft) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is able to take off from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). The ...
operations, and is equipped with the
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...
attack aircraft or the new
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
fighter aircraft. The vessel is named in honour of
Juan Carlos I, the former
King of Spain.
The new vessel plays an important role in the fleet, as a platform that not only replaces the
LSTs and for supporting the mobility of the
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and the strategic transport of other ground forces, but also acts as a platform for
carrier-based aviation replacing the now withdrawn aircraft carrier .
Design
The design for the ''Buque de Proyección Estratégica'' (Strategic Projection Vessel), as it was initially known, was approved in September 2003.
The vessel has a
flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...
of , with a ski-jump ramp. The ship's flight deck has eight landing spots for Harrier, F-35 Lightning II or medium-sized helicopters, four spots for heavy helicopters of the
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...
or
V-22 Osprey size.
The ship can carry either 30 helicopters or 10/12 McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II or Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and 10/12 helicopters,
using the light vehicles bay as an additional storage zone.
The ship uses
diesel-electric propulsion, simultaneously connecting both diesels and the new technology
gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
powerplant to a pair of
azimuthal pods, for the first time in the Spanish Navy.
The complement of the ship is approximately 900 naval personnel, with equipment and support elements for 1,200 soldiers. Multi-functional garage and hangar space on two levels covers , with capacity for 6,000 tonnes load on each level. A stern
well deck
In traditional nautical use, well decks were decks lower than decks fore and aft, usually at the main deck level, so that breaks appear in the main deck profile, as opposed to a flush deck profile. The term goes back to the days of sail. Late-20 ...
measuring can accommodate four
LCM-1E landing craft which can beach-deliver non-swimming ground vehicles like tanks and four RHIBs, or one
Landing Craft Air Cushion
The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from sh ...
plus
Assault Amphibious Vehicles.
Construction
Construction of the , 27,000-tonne ship started in May 2005 simultaneously at the Navantia Shipyards in
Ferrol,
Galicia (with the cut of the first plate corresponding to Block 320) and in
Fene, Galicia
Fene is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is located to the northeast of Galicia on the Ria of Ferrol.
Economy
The Navantia Shipyards and services in the parts which ...
(with the cut of the first plate corresponding to Block 330). The ship, that supposes a service load of 3,100,000 hours of production and 775,000 hours of engineering, was launched 10 March 2008,
and was commissioned 30 September 2010.
The original budget was €360 million but the ship cost €462 million (US$600 million) in the end.
Exports
Australia
On 20 June 2007, following a lengthy contest that pitted it against the similar but smaller French , the Australian government announced that it would build
under licence two ships of the same design, known as the .
Navantia
Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...
was responsible for the ships' construction from the
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
to the
flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...
in Spain, after which the hulls were transported to Australia for completion by
BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is one of the largest defence contractors in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holding ...
. The first of these ships, , was commissioned on 28 November 2014; the second ship, , was commissioned on 4 December 2015.
Russia
In September 2009,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
invited
Navantia
Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...
to take part in the competition to supply the
Russian Navy with the new generation of
amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
s to compete against the French ''Mistral''-class ships. In January 2011 Russia chose the ''Mistral'' proposal over the Spanish concept.
Licensing
Turkey
Navantia will provide design, technology transfer, equipment and technical assistance to Turkey's
Sedef Shipyard
Sedef Shipyard ( tr, Sedef Tersanesi) is a Turkish shipyard established in Gebze, Kocaeli in 1972. Shipyard moved to Tuzla, Istanbul in 1990. The shipyard is building defense industry ships and commercial ships such as the multi-purpose amphib ...
for the design and production of , a modified Turkish derivative of the ''Juan Carlos''-class, classified as a "Light Aircraft Carrier" by
Turkish Lloyd.
It will feature local command and control systems,
the combat system will be integrated by
ASELSAN and
HAVELSAN.
In December 2013, the
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...
's amphibious assault ship program was estimated to cost
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
375 million (US$500 million). Originally, the Turkish Navy wanted a slightly shorter flight deck without the forward ski-jump ramp, optimized for helicopter-only use.
["Turkey signs contract with Navantia-Sedef for the construction of a light aircraft carrier"]
Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy, Plymouth University, 11 May 2015. The service later opted for a fully equipped flight deck with the ski-jump after deciding to purchase Lockheed Martin F-35B
STOVL
A short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL aircraft) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is able to take off from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). The ...
aircraft.
["The Contract For LPD Construction Has Been Signed"]
Bosphorus Naval News, 19 May 2015. Turkey was a Level 3 partner in the Joint Strike Fighter
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands ...
program and the Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known to ...
was to get the F-35A CTOL
A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL), also known as horizontal take-off and landing (HTOL) is the process whereby conventional fixed-wing aircraft (such as passenger aircraft) take off and land, involving the use of runways.
During takeoff ...
version. On 17 July 2019, the US removed Turkey from the F-35 program for purchasing the Russian S-400 missile system
The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...
.
The Turkish version will be capable of operating up to 14 helicopters in "light aircraft carrier" configuration. The final design's dimensions are: (length), (beam), (draught), and (height).[ Its displacement will be 24,660 tons (in "light aircraft carrier" mission configuration) or 27,079 tons (in "amphibious landing ship" mission configuration).] Its maximum speed will be (in "light aircraft carrier" configuration) or (in "amphibious landing ship" configuration); while its maximum range will be at economical speed.[ It will have a flight deck and a aviation hangar which can accommodate either twelve medium-sized helicopters or eight CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.][ When the aviation hangar and the light cargo garage are unified, up to 25 medium-sized helicopters can be carried, or up to twelve helicopters and twelve F-35 fighters.] Six more helicopters can be hosted on the flight deck. Additionally, the ship will have a light cargo garage for TEU containers and 27 Amphibious Assault Vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAVP-7A1 (formerly known as Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel-7 abbr. LVTP-7)—is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by U.S. Combat Systems (previously by Unit ...
s (AAV);[ a dock which can host four Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) or two ]Landing Craft Air Cushion
The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from sh ...
(LCAC), or two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel
A Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) is any of a variety of amphibious landing craft designed to transport troops or armoured vehicles from ship to shore during amphibious landings.
United Kingdom
The desi ...
(LCVP); and a garage for heavy loads, which can host 29 Main Battle Tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
s (MBT), Amphibious Assault Vehicles and TEU containers.[ The crew will consist of 261 personnel: 30 officers, 49 NCOs, 59 leading seamen and 123 ratings.]
The final contract for the ship's construction was signed with the Navantia-Sedef consortium on 7 May 2015.["Havuzlu Çıkarma Gemisi 2021 yılında Deniz Kuvvetleri'ne teslim edilecek"]
Denizhaber, 7 May 2015. While the commissioning of the ship was scheduled for 2021 in the beginning, it was later revised to the end of 2022. The estimated cost according to the final specifications is $1 billion in 2015. Construction began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
.
The construction of an identical sister ship, to be named TCG ''Trakya'', is currently planned.
Ships
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Official Web-site of the Spanish Navy (in Spanish) with information about the "Buque de Proyección Estratégica"
*
41 photographs Juan Carlos I (L61) launch in Revista Naval (Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juan Carlos I (L61)
Amphibious warfare vessel classes
Aircraft carriers of the Spanish Navy
Amphibious warfare vessels of the Spanish Navy
Ships built in Spain
2009 ships
Ships of the Spanish Navy