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Italy Fincantieri
Cavour
The Italian Navy's flagship STOVL aircraft carrier, built by Fincantieri to operate F-35B Lightning IIs and AV-8B Harriers alongside helicopters. It combines a ski-jump flight deck with an amphibious/command capability, serving as the fleet's principal power-projection platform.
In service since 2008 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
27,100
t
29
kn
7,000
nmi
1,210
crew
💲 ≈ $1,500,000,000 — Approximate build cost
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
Italian export-licensed
UAMA authorisation; standard EU/Wassenaar controls.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 2008. Status: active · ~1 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$3.8B – $5.3B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~35 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 2× SCLAR-H decoy launchers
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 244 m
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- SPY-790 (EMPAR) multifunction radar
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $1,500,000,000 Stronger than 37% of warships
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 1 Stronger than 15% of warships
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 1 Stronger than 45% of warships
Specifications compiled from public Fincantieri and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) Frequently asked questions
What is the main armament of the Fincantieri Cavour? +
The Fincantieri Cavour's primary weapon is the 2× SCLAR-H decoy launchers.
What is the Fincantieri Cavour used for? +
The Fincantieri Cavour is a warship typically used for air superiority.
How many countries operate the Fincantieri Cavour? +
The Fincantieri Cavour is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the Fincantieri Cavour cost? +
The Fincantieri Cavour has an approximate unit cost of 1,500,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
