Juan Carlos I on Las Palmas, May 2011
|
|
History | |
---|---|
Spain | |
Name: | Juan Carlos I |
Namesake: | King Juan Carlos I of Spain |
Ordered: | 5 September 2003 |
Builder: | Navantia |
Cost: | €462 million (~US$600 million) |
Laid down: | May 2005 |
Launched: | 22 September 2009 |
Sponsored by: | Queen Sofia of Spain |
Commissioned: | 30 September 2010 |
Homeport: | Naval Station Rota, Rota |
Identification: | Pennant number: L61 |
Status: | Active as of 2016 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Juan Carlos I class amphibious assault ship |
Displacement: | 26,000 tonnes |
Length: | 230.82 m (757.3 ft) |
Beam: | 32 m (105 ft) |
Draught: | 6.9 m (23 ft) |
Propulsion: | 2 × 11 MW POD |
Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Range: | 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Boats & landing craft carried: |
Four LCM-1E |
Capacity: | 913 soldiers + up to 46 Leopard 2E tanks |
Complement: |
|
Sensors and processing systems: |
|
Electronic warfare & decoys: |
REGULUS and RIGEL |
Armament: | |
Aircraft carried: | AV-8B Harrier II, Chinook, Sea King, NH-90 |
Notes: |
Aircraft composition: Pure combat: 25 AV-8B/F-35B + 6 flight deck parking spots Mix: 11 AV-8B + 12 NH90 + 6 flight deck parking spots Pure transport: 25 NH90 + 6 flight deck parking spots |
Aircraft composition: Pure combat: 25 AV-8B/F-35B + 6 flight deck parking spots
Mix: 11 AV-8B + 12 NH90 + 6 flight deck parking spots
Juan Carlos I is a multi-purpose amphibious assault ship in the Spanish Navy (Armada Española). Similar in role to many aircraft carriers, the ship has a ski jump for STOVL operations, and is equipped with the AV-8B Harrier II attack 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 Newport-class LSTs Hernán Cortés and Pizarro for supporting the mobility of the Marines and the strategic transport of ground forces, but also acts as a platform for carrier-based aviation replacing the now withdrawn aircraft carrier Príncipe de Asturias.
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 of 202 metres (663 ft), 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 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.