The 5 most 'mysterious' aircraft carriers in the world

When it comes to aircraft carriers, the US and Russia are said to be the countries that own the most modern aircraft carriers in the world. However, Ria Novosti news agency has just released information about 5 "mysterious" aircraft carriers that are least mentioned by the media.

Aircraft carrier Chakri Narubet (Thailand)

Thailand's light aircraft carrier is the smallest among the aircraft carriers currently in operation in the world. Its displacement is only 11,500 tons, which is too "tiny" compared to the 61,000 tons of the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier or the 100,000 tons of the American Gerald Ford aircraft carrier.

The length of this aircraft carrier is 182 m (equivalent to the length of a cruiser). The ship was launched in 1996 and within 10 years it was used to patrol the exclusive economic zone of Thailand's sea, as well as for search and rescue operations.

Since 2009, the ship has hardly left the deep-water port of Chak Samet and has become a base for SH-60 “Sea Hawk” helicopters.

Brazil's aircraft carrier São Paulo.

Brazil's aircraft carrier São Paulo

The Brazilian Navy's only aircraft carrier was originally part of the French Navy under the name “Fosh” and was launched in 1960.

At the time of its transfer to the Brazilian Navy, the ship had been in service with the French Navy for 40 years. In 2000, the Brazilian Navy purchased the ship for $30 million. Although it had been overhauled by the French Navy, by 2000, the ship was almost beyond repair. Experts called Brazil's purchase of the aircraft carrier a "lifesaver" rather than a military need.

The main air wing of the São Paulo aircraft carrier is 14 A-4 Skyhawk fighter-attack aircraft, transport helicopters and anti-ship helicopters. However, another limitation of the ship is that it cannot even be used to raise the Brazilian flag in international waters. For almost the entire period of operation in the Brazilian Navy, the ship was almost completely in the repair yard. According to the plan, this ship was supposed to be put into service with the Brazilian Navy from 2013 after an overhaul, but a serious fire broke out on board.

As a result, on February 14, 2017, the ship was "retired" because it was deemed economically unreasonable to invest money in repairing the ship.

French ship Charles de Gaulle

French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle

The French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is the first French combat ship to use nuclear propulsion. With a displacement of 42,000 tons, the Charles de Gaulle is only inferior to the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov and modern American aircraft carriers.

The ship was commissioned into the French Navy in 2001. The first large-scale combat operation that Charles de Gaulle participated in was the attack on IS terrorist positions in Syria in late 2015, an action believed to be in retaliation for the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.

The main combat force of the Charles de Gaulle is the attack aircraft, including 36 “Super Ethandar” and “Rafale-M” fighter-attack aircraft. In addition, the ship carries 2 long-range radar aircraft E2C-“Hokai” and 2 search-and-rescue helicopters AS-565MB “Panter”. The ship is quite well protected from air threats: the ship is protected by missile complexes “Aster-15”, “Sadral” and 20 mm GiatF2 artillery complexes. In general, this is one of the ships with the strongest combat capabilities among ships of its type.

Italian ship Cavur

Italian aircraft carrier Cavur

The Cavur aircraft carrier with a displacement of 28,000 tons was put into service with the Italian Navy in 2009 and is considered one of the "young" aircraft carriers.

It is difficult to consider this as a floating airport because Cavur can only carry a total of 8 AV-8B Harrier II aircraft. In the near future, this ship will be re-equipped with American F-35B aircraft. However, Cavur can also carry 12 helicopters of various types and landing forces including: 415 marines, nearly 100 vehicles or 24 basic tanks, or nearly 50 heavy armored vehicles.

In addition, this ship is also equipped with 2 76.2mm automatic machine guns capable of attacking from a distance of 8-20 km with a rate of fire of 80 rounds/minute. Despite such strong firepower, the only major operation this ship participated in was a humanitarian operation to help the people of Haiti affected by the 2010 earthquake.

Spanish aircraft carrier Joan Carlos I

Spanish aircraft carrier Joan Carlos I

One of the most powerful combat ships of the Spanish Navy, the Joan Carlos I can hardly be considered a true aircraft carrier. According to Spanish classification, this ship is considered a “ship of strategic forces” and is capable of solving a variety of different tasks. This ship is similar to the American Wasp but has a flight deck for aircraft.

Joan Carlos I's main armament is 25 AV-8 Harrier II fighter-attack aircraft. The ship has four landing pads for CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and one pad for a V-22 Osprey helicopter.

The ship has a displacement of 27,000 tons and can carry 1,200 marines. The two-story hold allows the ship to carry up to 46 Leopard 2E tanks, four landing barges and landing boats. The weapons on board include 20mm automatic guns and close-range missile systems. The ship has not yet participated in combat but has only participated in NATO exercises.

According to Infonet