Aviation-capable naval vessels

Many present-day naval vessels, aside from aircraft carriers and full-length deck amphibious assault ships, are capable of carrying aircraft. A majority of United States Navy ships have at least a helipad, capable of landing medium-sized helicopters. Many others have decks and even hangars incorporated into the structure of the ship. It has become a standard part of modern ship design to have a deck that supports multiple, medium or large helicopters, as well as being able to house them in a hangar, for protection and maintenance. Aside from carriers and full-length deck amphibious assault ships, the US Navy has 12 classes of commissioned surface warships, 10 of which are aviation-capable. Two of those classes, patrol ships and mine counter-measure ships, are due to be replaced by the Littoral combat ship, at which point the entire US Naval surface war fleet will be aviation-capable.

View of a Freedom-class littoral combat ship with a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopter on her deck
A pair of MH-53E Sea Dragons sitting on the deck of a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship
A trio of CH-53E Super Stallions on the deck of a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock
View of a Lynx HMA8 helicopter sitting in front of the hangar on a Type 23 or Duke-class frigate
An IAF Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopter hovers above a Sa'ar 5-class corvette

US Navy ships

As of 2016, the current types and classes of US Navy ships, along with their capabilities are as follows:

Type Hull code Class Aircraft carried
Amphibious Command Ship(LCC)Blue Ridge2 × Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters
Amphibious transport dock(LPD)
(AFSB(I))		San Antonio
Austin		up to 4 or 6 × CH-46 Sea Knight or
up to 5 × MV-22 Osprey Tilt-rotors.
(also fixed-wing aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier II V/STOL jet, in an emergency - see USS Green Bay AV-8B Harrier testing)
Cruiser(CG)Ticonderoga2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or
MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Destroyer(DDG)Arleigh Burkeup to 2 × MH-60R LAMPS III helicopters
Dock landing ship(LSD)Harpers Ferry
Whidbey Island		2 × CH-53E Super Stallion or
3 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
Littoral combat ship(LCS)Freedom
Independence		2 × MH-60R/S Seahawk and 1 × MQ-8 Fire Scout
Submarine tender(AS)Emory S. Landnone (equipped with platform for medium helicopter)

Along with these types and classes, many of the US navy's non-commissioned ships, specifically those of the Military Sealift Command, are aviation-capable as well. The United States Coast Guard also has cutters that are aviation-capable. Also, with the growing technology in UAV's and UCAV's, virtually every ship afloat has, or will soon have, some type of aviation capability.

Other vessels

The following are examples of other types aviation-capable vessels from other navies around the world:

Type National Navy Class Aircraft carried
Amphibious transport dockFrench NavyFoudre4 × helicopters
Command shipRoyal Danish NavyAbsalon2 × EH-101 helicopters
CorvetteIsraeli NavySa'ar 51 × helicopter
CruiserRussian NavySlava1 × Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 helicopter
DestroyerPeople's Liberation Army Navy (China)Type 052B or Guangzhou1 × Kamov Ka-27 helicopter
Dock landing shipRoyal Australian NavyBaynone (can accommodate Chinook-sized helicopters and Osprey-sized tilt-rotors on its deck)
FrigateRoyal Navy (UK)Type 23 or Duke1 × Lynx HMA8 or 1 × Westland Merlin HM1
Landing platform dockSpanish NavyGalicia4 × SH-3 Sea King or
6 × NH-90 helicopters
Landing Ship, TankHellenic Navy (Greece)Jasonnone (equipped with platform for medium helicopter)
Helicopter destroyerJapan Maritime Self-Defense ForceHyūga3 × SH-60K, 1 × MCH-101

Other types

See also

References
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