Spanish ship Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I in February 2023 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Spain | |
| Name | Juan Carlos I |
| Namesake | King Juan Carlos I of Spain |
| Ordered | 5 September 2003 |
| Builder | Navantia |
| Cost | €462 million |
| Laid down | May 2005 |
| Launched | 22 September 2009 |
| Commissioned | 30 September 2010 |
| Homeport | Naval Station Rota, Rota |
| Identification | Pennant number: L61 |
| Status | Active |
| Badge | |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Juan Carlos I class |
| Displacement | 26,000 tonnes |
| Length | 230.82 m (757 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Draught | 6.9 m (23 ft) |
| Propulsion | 2 × 11 MW POD, GE ITP LM2500 + Navantia MAN 16V32/40 |
| 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 & processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys | REGULUS and RIGEL |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | AV-8B Harrier II, Chinook, Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk, NH90 |
| 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 |
_underway_in_the_Adriatic_Sea,_22_February_2023_(230222-N-MW880-1248).JPG){kind=link}
Juan Carlos I is a multi-purpose aircraft carrier-landing helicopter dock (LHD) in the Spanish Navy (Armada Española). Similar in role to many aircraft carriers, the amphibious landing ship has a ski jump for STOVL operations, and is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft. The vessel is named in honour of Juan Carlos I, the former king of Spain.
The vessel plays an important role in the fleet, as a platform that replaces the Newport-class tank landing ships Hernán Cortés and Pizarro for supporting the mobility of the Marines and the strategic transport of other ground forces, and acts as a platform for carrier-based aviation replacing the withdrawn aircraft carrier Príncipe de Asturias.