Aviation-capable naval vessel

CH-53E Super Stallions on the deck of a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock

Many present-day naval vessels, aside from

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.^[1]

US Navy ships

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 Ridge	2 × 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. (also fixed-wing aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier II V/STOL jet, in an emergency - see USS Green Bay AV-8B Harrier testing)
Cruiser	(CG)	Ticonderoga	2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Destroyer	(DDG)	Arleigh Burke	up 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. Land	none (equipped with platform for medium helicopter)

Along with these types and classes, many of the US navy's non-commissioned ships, specifically those of the

UCAVs

, virtually every ship afloat has, or will soon have, some type of aviation capability.

Other vessels

The following are examples of other types aviation-capable vessels from other navies around the world:

Type	National Navy	Class	Aircraft carried
Amphibious transport dock	Chilean Navy	Foudre	4 × helicopters
Command ship	Royal Danish Navy	Absalon	2 × EH-101 helicopters
Corvette	Israeli Navy	Sa'ar 5	1 × helicopter
Cruiser	Russian Navy	Slava	1 × Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 helicopter
Destroyer	People's Liberation Army Navy (China)	Type 052B or Guangzhou	1 × Kamov Ka-27 helicopter
Dock landing ship	Royal Australian Navy	Bay	none (can accommodate Chinook-sized helicopters and Osprey-sized tilt-rotors on its deck)
Frigate	Royal Navy (UK)	Type 23 or Duke	1 × Lynx HMA8 or 1 × Westland Merlin HM1
Landing platform dock	Spanish Navy	Galicia	4 × NH-90 helicopters
Landing Ship, Tank	Hellenic Navy (Greece)	Jason	none (equipped with platform for medium helicopter)
Helicopter destroyer	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force	Hyūga	3 × SH-60K, 1 × MCH-101