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Warship

Spain

Navantia

Juan Carlos I

Spanish Navy's flagship strategic projection ship, a landing helicopter dock with a ski-jump flight deck able to operate AV-8B Harriers and F-35Bs alongside a full amphibious well deck. Built by Navantia, its design was scaled up and exported to Australia as the two Canberra-class LHDs.

In service since 2010 · 1 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

25,000

9,000

nmi

243

crew

💲 ≈ $500,000,000 — Approximate build cost

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

National export licensing

Subject to Spain export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Limited · 1 operator

In service since 2010. Status: active · ~1 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

$1.3B – $1.8B

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

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 231 m

Naval

Displacement, speed, endurance and diving depth.

Displacement Standard displacement in tonnes — the ship’s size class. Larger hulls carry more but cost more and are less agile.: 25,000 t
Full-load displacement Displacement fully loaded with fuel, stores and munitions.: 27,100 t
Max speed Top speed in knots (surfaced, for submarines). Higher aids positioning and screening.: 21 kn

Bottom 3% of warships
Range Cruising range in nautical miles. Nuclear vessels are effectively unlimited (fuel-wise). Higher means more reach without replenishment.: 9,000 nmi

Stronger than 89% of warships
Complement Crew size. Fewer eases manning cost; more may indicate a larger, more capable platform.: 243
Aircraft carried Embarked aircraft/helicopters. Higher extends the ship’s sensor and strike reach.: 30

Stronger than 83% of warships
Propulsion plant Machinery type — nuclear reactor, gas turbine (COGAG), CODAG, diesel-electric, AIP.: Integrated electric propulsion (IEP) with gas turbine and diesel generators

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.: SPS-55 surface search 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.: $500,000,000

Stronger than 87% 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 Navantia 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

Warship

Juan Carlos I Alvaro de Bazan class (F100)

Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100)

View Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) ↗

Warship

Juan Carlos I Bonifaz class (F110)

Navantia Bonifaz class (F110)

View Bonifaz class (F110) ↗

Warship

Juan Carlos I Bergamini class (FREMM)

Fincantieri Bergamini class (FREMM)

View Bergamini class (FREMM) ↗

Frequently asked questions

How many countries operate the Navantia Juan Carlos I? +

The Navantia Juan Carlos I is operated by 1 countries.

How much does the Navantia Juan Carlos I cost? +

The Navantia Juan Carlos I has an approximate unit cost of 500,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.