Cavour (550) is an Italian aircraft carrier (CVH) of the Marina Militare, the Italian Navy. She is named after the Italian statesman and politician Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour.
Cavour was laid down by Fincantieri on 17 July 2001, and she was launched from the Riva Trigoso shipyard (Sestri Levante) on 20 July 2004. Sea trials began in December 2006, and she was officially commissioned March 27, 2008. Full Operational Capability (FOC) is expected in early 2009 after completion of finishing work at Muggiano (Lerici) in summer 2008 and transfer to the new naval station on Mar Grande in Taranto. Cavour will be the new flagship of the Italian Navy.
Cavour will initially operate the AV-8B Harrier II, but will receive the Lockheed F-35B in the future. While the Cavour will not be able to serve as a serious power projection platform along the lines of Russia's Kuznetsov or America's CVNs due to her much smaller air wing and lack of serious surface-to-surface weapon systems, she will serve alongside the Giuseppi Garibaldi (551) to provide Italy with a modern naval air arm capable of performing small-scale operations.
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