An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increases the time of availability on the combat zone.
A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The CV in CVBG is the United States Navy hull classification code for an aircraft carrier.
Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities.
The Italian Navy is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina after World War II. As of August 2014, the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active personnel, with approximately 184 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels. It is considered a multiregional and a blue-water navy.
USS Rushmore (LSD-47) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second navy ship to be named for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She is the seventh ship in her class of dock landing ships and the fourth ship in that class to serve in the United States Pacific Fleet.
Operation United Shield was the codename of a military operation, conducted 9 January to 3 March 1995, bringing a conclusion to the United Nations Operation in Somalia II. Commanded by the United States, two ships of the Pakistan Navy, five ships of the Italian Navy and six ships of the United States Navy formed a Combined Task Force (CTF) ensuring the safe evacuation of all UN Peacekeeping Forces from Somalia.
A joint support ship (JSS) is a multi-role naval vessel capable of launching and supporting joint amphibious and airlift operations. It can also provide command and control, sealift and seabasing, underway replenishment, disaster relief and logistics capabilities for combined land and sea operations.
The Spanish–Italian Amphibious Battlegroup is one of 18 European Union battlegroups. It is formed by the Spanish–Italian Landing Force (SILF) of the Spanish–Italian Amphibious Force. It consists of 1500 Marines with manpower contributed from the participating countries. From January until June 2009, it was on the EU Battlegroup standby roster.
The Endurance-class tank landing ships (LST) are the largest class of ships in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). They were designed and built by Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine to replace the old County-class tank landing ships. The four ships form the Third Flotilla of the RSN.
In the United States Navy, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, and other naval assets. In contrast to carrier strike groups (CSGs), which emphasize air power and are led by a supercarrier, ESGs are strongly suited for amphibious warfare and are led by an amphibious assault ship. The ESG concept was introduced in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields nine expeditionary strike groups.
The San Giorgio class are amphibious transport docks (LPD) built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy. These ships can carry a battalion of troops, and up to 36 armored vehicles. The stern floodable dock can accommodate three landing craft. The ships are based at the Brindisi naval base on the Adriatic coast.
USS San Bernardino (LST-1189) was the eleventh of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The second USN ship to be named after the city in California, the ship was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The LST was launched in 1970 and was commissioned in 1971. San Bernardino participated in the Vietnam War, earning one battle star and took part in operations in the Middle East. The ship was decommissioned 1995 and transferred to the Chilean Navy. In Chilean service, the vessel was renamed Valdivia (LST-93) for a battle during the Chilean War of Independence. The LST was recommissioned that year and during its service, took part in humanitarian efforts following earthquakes in Chile in 2010. In 2011 the Chilean Navy took Valdivia out of service due to repairs to the ship no longer being economical.
An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers. Modern designs support amphibious landing craft, with most designs including a well deck. Like the aircraft carriers they were developed from, some amphibious assault ships also support V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft and have a secondary role as aircraft carriers.
USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39) was an Anchorage-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name. She was built in Massachusetts in 1972 and homeported in Southern California for 31 years until being decommissioned on 25 July 2003. Mount Vernon acted as the control ship for the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 2005, she was intentionally destroyed off the coast of Hawaii as part of a training exercise. USS Mount Vernon also appeared in the Season 7 episode 19 of The Love Boat when they visited Hong Kong.
An Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD), formerly the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP), is designed to be a semi-submersible, flexible, modular platform providing the US Navy with the capability to perform large-scale logistics movements such as the transfer of vehicles and equipment from sea to shore. These ships significantly reduce the dependency on foreign ports and provide support in the absence of port availability. The class also houses a sub-class variant called the Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB), formerly the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB).
The procurement of Landing Platform Docks (LPD) by the Indian Navy, formerly known as the "Multi-Role Support Vessel Program" (MRSV) - is an initiative of the Indian Navy (IN) to procure a series of landing platform docks, specific vessels dedicated to amphibious warfare, as part of the service's strategy to augment its capabilities of amphibious warfare, disaster-response, humanitarian assistance and auxiliary duties.
The "San Marco" Marine Brigade is an amphibious formation of the Italian Navy, has been brigade since 2013 but the amphibious corps existed since 1915, reorganizing the Navy Landing Force. It has its command in Brindisi. They are the marines of the Italian Navy.
San Giorgio is the lead ship of the San Giorgio-class amphibious transport dock of the Italian Navy.
The following is the structure of the Italian Navy as of June 2020. It is considered a multiregional and a blue-water navy.
Italy
