Aviation-capable naval vessels

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

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.

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.
(And also fixed-wing aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier II V/STOL jet, in an emergency)
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, it should be noted that 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.

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
Guided missile destroyerRoyal Canadian NavyIroquois2 × CH-124 Sea King helicopters
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

See also

References

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