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Cavour (550)


Aircraft Carrier / Helicopter Carrier


Italy | 2008



"The Cavour 550 aircraft carrier is a relatively new entry into the ranks of the Italian Navy, having been commissioned in 2008."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one sea-going vessel design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for Cavour (550).
6 x Diesel generators with 4 x General Electric/Avio LM2500+ gas turbines developing 88,000 horsepower.
Propulsion
28.0 kts
32.2 mph
Surface Speed
7,000 nm
8,055 miles | 12,963 km
Range
Structure
The bow-to-stern, port-to-starboard physical qualities of Cavour (550).
1,120
Personnel
Complement
800.0 ft
243.84 meters
O/A Length
128.0 ft
39.01 meters
Beam
28.5 ft
8.69 meters
Draught
27,000
tons
Displacement
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of Cavour (550).
4 x 8-cell A43 Sylver surface-to-air missile launchers (MBDA Aster 15 missile).
2 x Oto Melara 76mm /62 caliber Super Rapido Guns.
3 x Oerlikon Contraves 25mm /80 caliber anti-aircraft guns.
Air Arm
Available supported fixed-wing / rotary-wing aircraft featured in the design of Cavour (550).
8 x AV-8B Harrier II VTOL strike aircraft.
12 x AgustaWestland EH101 Airborne Early Warning helicopters.
Ships-in-Class (1)
Notable series variants as part of the Cavour (550) family line as relating to the Conti de Cavour-class group.
Conti di Cavour (550)
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/03/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Conte di Cavour (550) is one of two actively serving Italian Navy aircraft carriers (alongside the smaller Giuseppe Garibaldi (551)). The Garibaldi was commissioned in 1985 and has since served as a straight deck with ski jump ramp managing a fleet of Harrier II jump jets and various navy helicopter types. The newer Cavour was commissioned in 2008 and was completed with a straight deck design featuring a ski jump ramp offset to portside for supporting its air wing of Harrier IIs and AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin helicopters - approximately 20 total aircraft. The Cavour currently serves as the flagship of the Italian Navy and received her first mission call in January 2010 in support of Operation White Crane during the Haitian Earthquake relief operation. She bears the name of Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour (1810-1861) - Italy's first Prime Minister though she was initially named the Luigi Einaudi and then, later, the Andrea Doria prior to becoming the Cavour. The Cavour was not intended as a replacement for the older Garibaldi carrier but instead serves as a complement to it.

The Cavour was developed in the 1990s to which her keel was laid down on July 17th, 2001. She was launched out to sea on July 20th, 2004 and underwent the requisite sea trials before seeing her formal commissioning on March 27th, 2008. She currently berths at La Spezia and fights under the motto of "In Arduis Servare Mentem" (roughly translating to "In Hard Times Keep a Level Head") under active status.

As with many European-designed aircraft carriers, the Cavour is intended to host a limited variety of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft as needed. This principally includes the AV-8B Harrier II jump jet family of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft which do not require runway space for launching and recovery, behaving in much the same way that a helicopter does. Helicopters also play a major role in Cavour operations and, as such, the air wing of the Cavour stocks both aircraft types. In this fashion, the vessel can be called upon for air defense, search and rescue, strike, humanitarian assistance, anti-ship sorties and reconnaissance as required. The flight deck is divided into two areas - the primary launch and recovery section set to the port side and secondary launch section held at the starboard-bow. The island superstructure is offset to the starboard side in the usual fashion and contains the sensors and systems processing center as well as the bridge and flight command. The superstructure is also home to twin double funnels exhausting the conventional engine arrangement. A large crane is situated ahead of the superstructure with a smaller one aft. There are two masts atop the superstructure - the forward-most one housing an EMPAR air-search and missile guidance system in a spherical assembly and the aft-most one containing a pole-mast type arrangement. There are two hangar elevators - one offset to the starboard side aft of the superstructure (serving the primary runaway) and the second also offset to starboard (ahead of the superstructure) serving the forward flight deck. The ski jump ramp is angled at 12-degrees.

The Cavour is a conventionally-powered vessel, fitted with 6 x diesel engines coupled with 4 x General Electric/Avio LM2500+ series gas turbines to develop 88,000 horsepower. The ship is therefore able to make 28 knots in ideal conditions with ranges out to 7,000 nautical miles. Overall length is 244 meters with a beam of 39 meters and a draught of 8.7 meters. Displacement is 27,000 tons on a standard load and 30,000 tons under full load. The crew complement consists of 1,120 personnel made up of officers, sailors, logistics personnel, airmen, mechanics and marines.

The Cavour is defensed by 4 x 8-cell A43 Sylver surface-to-air missile launchers firing the MBDA Aster 15 series missile. This is backed by 2 x Oto Melara 76mm /62 caliber Super Rapido rapid fire cannons and 3 x 25mm /80 caliber Oerlikon Contraves Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) anti-aircraft guns. The air wing typically consists of 8 x AV-8B Harrier II jump jets and 12 x AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin helicopters - the latter configured for the Airborne Early Warning role. up to 30 aircraft can be stored aboard the vessel in extreme wartime circumstances. The hangar deck can also be used to stock cargo and vehicles for when in support of humanitarian relief or amphibious assault operations.

The Italian Navy expects to replace its fleet of aging AV-8B Harrier II VTOL jets with the upcoming Lockheed F-35B Lightning II series of VTOL aircraft currently undergoing weapons testing (2012) prior to service clearance. The Cavour will be slightly modified to suit the new American fighter.

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February 2021 - The Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (CVH-550) is set to be certified for F-35B operations at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

March 2021 - The F-35B variant has successfully completed sea trials aboard the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour in a major hurdle for Italian at-sea airpower.

July 2021 - The advanced Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) by Raytheon for F-35 operations has been deployed aboard the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour.

August 2021 - Italy has landed an F-35B aboard its aircraft carrier Cavour for the first time as the service continues to clear hurdles in succeeding its aging AV-8B+ Harrier fleet.

Operators
Global operator(s) of the Cavour (550). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national naval warfare listing.

Shipbuilder(s): Fincantieri SpA - Italy
National flag of Italy

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Image of the Cavour (550)

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