Buque de Proyección Estratégica
Encyclopedia
Juan Carlos I (L61) is a multi-purpose warship in the Spanish Navy
(Armada Española). Similar in concept to the American Wasp
class LHDs it has the addition of a ski jump for STOVL
operations. The ship will be equipped with fighter jets of the AV-8B Harrier type and will primarily be used as an aircraft carrier
. The vessel is named in honour of Juan Carlos I, the current King of Spain.
The new vessel is to play 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, but that can also act as a platform for carrier-based aviation, and the strategic transport of ground forces as required.
The vessel has a flight deck
of 202 metres (662.7 ft), with a "ski-jump" ramp. The ship's flight deck has eight landing points for Harrier, JSF or medium helicopters, four points for heavy helicopters of the CH-47 Chinook
type, and one point large enough for aircraft of V-22 Osprey
size. The ship can carry up to 30 aircraft in the aircraft carrier mode, using the light vehicles bay as an additional storage zone.
For the first time in the Spanish Navy, the ship uses diesel-electric
propulsion, simultaneously connecting both diesels and the new technology gas turbine
powerplant to a pair of azimuthal pods
.
The complement of the ship is around 900 naval personnel, with equipment and support elements for 1,200 soldiers. Multi-functional garage and hangar space on two levels covers 6000 square metres (7,175.9 sq yd), with capacity for 6,000 tonnes load on each level. A stern well deck
measuring 69.3 by 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 plus Amphibious Assault Vehicle
s.
, Galicia (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 Prime Minister of Australia announced on 20 June 2007, that Australia would purchase and build two ships of the same design to become the Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Docks. Navantia
will be responsible for construction of the ships from the keel
to the flight deck
in Spain, after which the hulls will be transported to Australia for completion by BAE Systems Australia
.
invited Navantia
to take part in the competition to supply Russian Navy with the new generation of amphibious assault ship
s to compete against the French Mistral class ships
. In January 2011 Russia chose the Mistral over the Spanish concept.
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
(Armada Española). Similar in concept to the American Wasp
Wasp class amphibious assault ship
The Wasp class is a class of Landing Helicopter Dock amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy. Based on the Tarawa class, with modifications to operate more advanced aircraft and landing craft, the Wasp class is capable of transporting almost the full strength of a United States...
class LHDs it has the addition of a ski jump for STOVL
STOVL
STOVL is an acronym for short take off and vertical landing.This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway or take off vertically if it does not have a very heavy payload and land vertically...
operations. The ship will be equipped with fighter jets of the AV-8B Harrier type and will primarily be used as an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. The vessel is named in honour of Juan Carlos I, the current King of Spain.
The new vessel is to play an important role in the fleet, as a platform that not only replaces the Newport-class
Newport class tank landing ship
Newport-class tank-landing ships are an improved class of American tank-landing ship , intended to provide substantial advantages over their World War II-era predecessors...
LSTs
Tank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
Hernán Cortés and Pizarro for supporting the mobility of the Marines, but that can also act as a platform for carrier-based aviation, and the strategic transport of ground forces as required.
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
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 helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
of 202 metres (662.7 ft), with a "ski-jump" ramp. The ship's flight deck has eight landing points for Harrier, JSF or medium helicopters, four points for heavy helicopters of the CH-47 Chinook
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
type, and one point large enough for aircraft of V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
size. The ship can carry up to 30 aircraft in the aircraft carrier mode, using the light vehicles bay as an additional storage zone.
For the first time in the Spanish Navy, the ship uses diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
propulsion, simultaneously connecting both diesels and the new technology gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
powerplant to a pair of azimuthal pods
Azimuth thruster
An azimuth thruster is a configuration of ship propellers placed in pods that can be rotated in any horizontal direction, making a rudder unnecessary...
.
The complement of the ship is around 900 naval personnel, with equipment and support elements for 1,200 soldiers. Multi-functional garage and hangar space on two levels covers 6000 square metres (7,175.9 sq yd), with capacity for 6,000 tonnes load on each level. A stern well deck
Well deck
A well deck or well dock is a hangar-like deck located at the waterline in the stern of some amphibious warfare ships. By taking on water the ship can lower its stern, flooding the well deck and allowing boats and amphibious landing craft to dock within the ship. This facilitates moving cargo...
measuring 69.3 by can accommodate four LCM-1E
LCM-1E
The LCM-1E is a class of amphibious mechanized landing craft manufactured by Navantia at their factory in San Fernando. These craft are intended to deliver troops and equipment onshore from amphibious assault ships during amphibious assaults....
landing craft which can beach-deliver non-swimming ground vehicles like tanks and four RHIBs, or one Landing Craft Air Cushion plus Amphibious Assault Vehicle
Amphibious Assault Vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle —official designation AAV-7A1 is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by U.S. Combat Systems .The AAV-7A1 is the current amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps...
s.
Construction
Construction of the 231-metre, 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 FeneFENE
FENE stands for the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic model of a long-chained polymer. It simplifies the chain of monomers by connecting a sequence of beads with nonlinear springs...
, Galicia (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.
Exports
Australia
Following a lengthy design contest that pitted the design against the similar but smaller French Mistral class shipsMistral class landing platform dock
The Mistral class is a class of three amphibious assault ships, also known as a helicopter carrier, of the French Navy. Referred to as "projection and command ships" , a Mistral class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles...
, the Prime Minister of Australia announced on 20 June 2007, that Australia would purchase and build two ships of the same design to become the Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Docks. Navantia
Navantia
Navantia, formerly Bazán or IZAR, is a Spanish shipbuilding firm, which offers its services to both military and civil sector. It is the fifth largest shipbuilder in Europe, and the ninth largest in the world with shipyards all over Spain....
will be responsible for construction of the ships from the keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
to the flight deck
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 helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
in Spain, after which the hulls will be transported to Australia for completion by BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is the largest defence contractor in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings in 2007 and Tenix Defence in June 2008.-History:BAE Systems'...
.
Russia
In September 2009, RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
invited Navantia
Navantia
Navantia, formerly Bazán or IZAR, is a Spanish shipbuilding firm, which offers its services to both military and civil sector. It is the fifth largest shipbuilder in Europe, and the ninth largest in the world with shipyards all over Spain....
to take part in the competition to supply Russian Navy with the new generation of amphibious assault ship
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...
s to compete against the French Mistral class ships
Mistral class landing platform dock
The Mistral class is a class of three amphibious assault ships, also known as a helicopter carrier, of the French Navy. Referred to as "projection and command ships" , a Mistral class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles...
. In January 2011 Russia chose the Mistral over the Spanish concept.