Spanish ship Juan Carlos I (L61)

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Juan Carlos I on the Ria of Ferrol, September 2009
Career (Spain) 60px
Name: Juan Carlos I
Namesake: King Juan Carlos I
Ordered: 5 September 2003
Builder: Navantia
Cost: 360 million €
Laid down: May 2005
Launched: 22 September 2009[1]
Sponsored by: Queen Sofia of Spain
Commissioned: 24 June 2010[2]
Homeport: Naval Station Rota, Rota[3]
Identification: Pennant number: L-61
General characteristics
Class and type: Juan Carlos I-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement: 27,079 tonnes (24'560 as a.c.c.)
Length: 230.82 metres (757.3 ft)[4]
Beam: 32 metres (105 ft)
Draught: 6.9 metres (23 ft)[4]
Propulsion: 2 x POD
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)
Range: 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Boats and landing
craft carried:		 Four LCM
Capacity: 902 soldiers + up to 46 Leopard 2 tanks
Complement: Ship's company: 243
Air wing: 172
Armament: 4 x 20 mm guns
4x 12.7 mm machine-guns
Aircraft carried: AV-8B Harriers, F-35, CH-47, Sea King, NH-90.

Juan Carlos I (L-61) is a multi-purpose warship under construction for 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, and can also be used as an aircraft carrier.

The new vessel is to play an important role in the fleet, as a platform that not only supports the mobility of the Marines (replacing the Hernán Cortés (L-41) and the Pizarro (L-42) (Newport-class LSTs)), but that can also act as a platform for carrier-based aviation, and the strategic transport of ground forces as required.

Construction

The design for the Buque de Proyección Estratégica (Strategic Projection Vessel), as it was initially known, was approved in September 2003, and the construction of the 231-metre, 27,000-ton ship at the Navantia Shipyards in Ferrol, Galicia began in 2005. The vessel was launched on 10 March 2008,[5] and is expected to be commissioned in 2010.[6] The vessel is named in honour of Juan Carlos I, the current King of Spain.

Design

The capacity of the ship will be of around 900 naval personnel, with equipment and support elements for 1,200 soldiers. Multi-functional garage and hangar space on two levels covers 6,000 m², with capacity for 6,000 tonnes load on each level. A stern dock is capable of holding up to four LCM-1e boats or one LCAC.

File:Juan Carlos I L-61 (2).JPG
ski-jump.

The vessel will have a flight deck of 202 metres (663 ft) with a "ski-jump". The ship's flight deck includes have eight landing points for Harrier, JSF or medium helicopters, four points for heavy helicopters of the CH-47 Chinook type, and one point for aircraft of V-22 Osprey size.[7] The ship can carry up to 30 aircraft in the aircraft carrier mode, using the light vehicles bay as an additional storage zone.[7]

For the first time in the Spanish Navy, the ship will use diesel-electric propulsion, simultaneously connecting both diesels and the new technology gas turbine powerplant to a pair of azimuthal pods.

Construction started in May 2005 simultaneously in Ferrol (with the cut of the first plate corresponding to Block 320) and in Fene (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 in March 2008, and is planned to be commissioned in 2011.[citation needed]

Exports

Australia

Following a lengthy design contest that pitted the design against the similar but smaller French Mistral class ships, 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. Work for these two ships is expected to be performed in Australia by BAE Systems Australia with the balance in Spain and other countries.

Russia

In September 2009, Russia invited Navantia to take part in the competition to supply Russian Navy with the new generation of amphibious assault ships. Once more it would be competing against the French Mistral class ships.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.elcorreogallego.es/galicia/ecg/juan-carlos-i-sale-mar-primeras-pruebas-navegacion/idEdicion-2009-09-22/idNoticia-469987/
  2. ↑ http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/725699/0/
  3. ↑ http://www.finanzas.com/noticias/economia/2010-06-02/294309_navantia-acaba-pruebas-juan-carlos.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "LHD Juan Carlos I Technical data". http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/conocenos_modernizacion/02_jc_i--02_ficha_tecnica_es.  Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "multiple" defined multiple times with different content
  5. ↑ "Alonso elude concretar si el Gobierno contratará una sexta fragata F-100 para Navantia" (in Spanish). lavozdegalicia.es. 2007-10-28. http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/dinero/2007/10/29/00031193671551553574845.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-27. 
  6. ↑ http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/725699/0/
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "LHD Juan Carlos I (Mission profile)" (in Spanish, English, and French). Spanish Ministry of Defense (armada). 2007-10-28. http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/conocenos_modernizacion/prefLang_en/02_jc_i--04_perfil_mision_es. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 

See also

External links

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