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The Spanish Juan Carlos I amphibious assault ship is similar in concept to the US Wasp class. This LHD is named in honor of Juan Carlos I, the former king of Spain. This warship was commissioned in 2010. It plays an important role in the Spanish Navy. Australia is currently building two ships of the same design, locally known as Canberra class.
Ship provides accommodation for 900 marines and can carry up to 46 Leopard 2 or similar main battle tanks. It has a multi-functional hangar and garage space on two levels. The Juan Carlos can carry four mechanized landing craft (LCM) or one hovercraft (LCAC) in the stern dock. Vessel can also play an important role in disaster relief operations.
The Juan Carlos I was specially designed to operate V/STOL aircraft. Vessel has a flight deck of 202 m with a ski-jump bow. It has 8 spots for AV-8B Harriers, 4 spots for CH-47 Chinook medium helicopters, and one spot for V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport. Vessel can carry up to 30 aircraft, when used in the aircraft carrier mode. This LHD can substitute the Spanish Principe de Asturias light aircraft carrier.
The Juan Carlos ship is fitted with a single vertical launch system for ESSM or RAM missiles. Other weapons include four 20-mm Oerlikon close-in weapon systems.
This assault ship uses new propulsion system. It has two gas turbines and requires no shafts. Similar propulsion is used on the French Mistral class. Ship has a range of 9 000 nautical miles (17 000 km) at 15 knots.
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Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights. In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states. Text by Steve Smith.
