Navantia has recently delivered the LHD Juan Carlos I to the Spanish Navy at Ferrol Arsenal. This amphibious ship is the biggest ship ever built by Navantia as well as the biggest ship of the Spanish Navy. The ship's construction started in 2005 and it was launched on 10 March 2008. The General Design and the Structure engineering of the ship was developed with FORAN.

The LHD, Juan Carlos I, has been designed to carry out amphibious missions, force deployment, humanitarian assistance and can be used as an auxiliary aircraft carrier. The ship has a large hospital capacity, which makes it ideal for deployment in disaster areas, in addition to her cargo capacity.

With an overall length of 230.82m (flight deck 202.3m), 32m beam and full load displacement of more than 27,500t, this is the biggest ship ever made available to the Spanish Navy. It is also the first of its size with podded electrical propulsion. Highly automated, the crew will consist of just 247 members.

Main particulars:

• Overall length: 231.4m
• Maximum beam: 32m
• Design draught: 6.8m
• Depth to fly deck: 27.5m
• Full load dead weight: 6,500t
• Maximum speed (full load): >20kn
• Range at 15 knots: 9,000 miles
• Accommodation capacity: 1,443 people

Many international navies have shown their interest in the LHD Juan Carlos I.Navantia is constructing two units for the Australian Navy, which contract was signed in 2007.