The plans of the Spanish Navy for two aircraft carriers and the future embarked fighter

This week, the Spanish Navy's plans to equip itself with two aircraft carriers in the long term were confirmed.

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The news was published yesterday by Defensa.com, a leading Spanish media outlet on military matters (its printed magazine has been an inexhaustible source of specialized information for decades). The information, signed by Octavio Díez Cámara, indicates that the Spanish Navy is already working on developing the requirements for a new LHD-type aircraft carrier, probably of greater length and displacement than its current flagship, the "Juan Carlos I" L-61.

The LHD (Landing Helicopter Dock) is a type of ship that combines amphibious capabilities (using a floodable vessel that allows the deployment of landing craft or even hovercraft) with a flight deck that allows the operation of vertical takeoff aircraft (helicopters and convertiplanes) and STOVL (short takeoff and vertical landing, such as the current Harrier II and F-35B fighters). Currently, the United States, Spain, France, Australia, Turkey, South Korea and communist China have this type of ships.

It should be noted that Spain's plans to equip itself with two aircraft carriers are not new. Initially, it was planned to keep the old aircraft carrier "Príncipe de Asturias" R-11 (below) in service along with the current "Juan Carlos I" L-61, but the economic crisis of 2008 and the high cost of modernizing the ship led to the early retirement of the R-11 in 2013, after only 25 years in service. A regrettable fact.

On December 30, 2024, Defensa.com had already discussed the Spanish Navy's plans for a second aircraft carrier, in another article by Octavio Díez Cámara in which he noted that "according to the schedule the Navy is already working with, work on the first of the two new LHD aircraft carriers would begin in early 2028 and construction of both would be projected until at least 2037."

What's striking about that article and the one published yesterday is that it doesn't address the replacement of the current fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft, the Harrier II. The Spanish government has yet to confirm or deny the possible purchase of the F-35, despite the fact that its STOVL variant, the F-35B, is the only alternative on the market to replace the Spanish Harrier IIs. The news that the Navy is already working on plans for two aircraft carriers sheds some light on this, albeit indirectly.

Obviously, it is unlikely that the Navy is planning two LHD-class carriers without also having plans for a new carrier-based aircraft, since the service life of the 9th Squadron's Harrier IIs will not extend beyond 2030. Thus, it is safe to assume that the Navy plans to incorporate the F-35B, and in sufficient numbers to equip two LHDs, which would indicate a new squadron of STOVL aircraft with a greater number than Harrier IIs (currently 11 are operational, including one two-seat for conversion training).

Of course, whatever the Navy's plans are, all of this will ultimately depend on a political decision, which will have to be made by the same people who treat the F-35B as a taboo subject and who even look askance at talking about "rearmament"...

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Photos: Elentir.