Италияның әскери-теңіз күшінің «Кавур» ұшақ тасушысы

Italian aircraft carrier

Cavour is an Italian aircraft carrier launched in 2004. She is the flagship of the Italian Navy.

The ship is designed to combine fixed wing V/STOL and helicopter air operations, command and control operations, and the transport of military or civil personnel and heavy vehicles. The , hangar space can double as a vehicle hold capable of holding up to 24 main battle tanks (typically Ariete) or many more lighter vehicles (50 Dardo IFV, 100+ Iveco LMV), and is fitted aft with access ramps rated to 70 tons, as well as two elevators rated up to 30 tons for aircraft. Cavour can also operate as landing platform helicopter, accommodating heavy transport helicopters (AgustaWestland UH 101A ASH) and 325 marines (91 more, on option). The Cavour has a displacement of 27,900 tons but can reach more than 30,000 tons at full military capacity. By May 2020, the modernization to allow Cavour to support the F 35B was completed, and the carrier was ready for subsequent integration trials. Cavour will have room for ten F 35Bs in the hangar, and six more parked on deck. Sea trials began in December 2006, and she was officially commissioned on 27 March 2008. Full operational capability (FOC) was reached on 10 June 2009.

On 19 January 2010, Cavour was dispatched to Haiti as part of Operation White Crane, Italy's operation for 2010 Haiti earthquake relief. This was the first mission of the aircraft carrier, where it supplemented international efforts to provide relief for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It was reported that modernization works on Cavour has been completed. In May 2020, it was announced the Italian aircraft carrier would undertake a preparatory training before sailing to the U. S. where the ship would conduct trials with the F 35B STOVL. On 9 March 2021, replenished her in the western Atlantic Ocean. Then on 20 March, she operated alongside Gerald R. Ford in the Atlantic Ocean. On 26 March, she was in Norfolk, Virginia when the F 35B trial was completed. She left Norfolk on 16 April and returned to homeport Taranto on 30 April. Initial operating capability for the F 35s is expected for 2024. In February 2022, she was part of interoperability training operations with the American carrier Harry S. Truman and the French carrier French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the lead up to the Russo Ukrainian War.