Ethiopian aircraft carrier Haile Selassie (Alternity)

The ERNS Haile Selassie (EO1) is the flagship and only aircraft carrier of the Royal Ethiopian Navy (ERN). Originally built as the British Royal Navy's Audacious-class HMS Eagle, the carrier was initially decommissioned in 1972 and purchased from Britain in the summer of 1974. Renamed Haile Selassie after Ethiopia's then-current and near-legendary leader, she was refitted for Ethiopian use at the Mogadishu Dockyards from 1976-77 and quickly established Mogadishu as her homeport. She operates a limited complement of 30 American-built McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C's; prior to mid-1990, the carrier operated F4 Phantoms. The ERN recently approved plans for the construction of a home-grown carrier to replace the aging Haile Selassie. The new carrier, yet unnamed, is currently scheduled to be laid down at the Mogadishu yards next fall (1998) and be in commission by the late 2001/early 2002 timeframe.