Moment in which the S-81 is departing to the slipway, where the launch ceremony took place a few days later.
case with up to 18 weapons systems
housed in six 533 millimetre torpedo
tubes. “The new submarines will have
the best heavy torpedo the DM2A4
currently available”, says Lieutenant
Commander Iranzo. In addition, the
Isaac Peral and its “sisters” will provide
the Spanish Submarine Force with
“the capacity, for the first time, to
launch missiles”, says its commander.
For example, the Sub-Harpoon Block II
Anti-Surface missile or the land attack
cruise missiles are another
of the novelties offered
by these latest generation
conventional submarines
built by Navantia.
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT
The S-80 programme was
born in early 2004. Twelve
years later, in 2012, a
deviation in the submarine’s
weight book of just over
100 tonnes was detected,
which forced its redesign,
in which the US Navy and
General Dynamics-Electric
Boat collaborated, and the
project was resumed in
2018, with a consequent
increase in length and
displacement capacity. “Also in the
number of crew members”, says the
S-81 commander. From the 32 divers
initially planned, the number has
increased to 40, still far below the 67 who
embark, for example, on the Tramontana.
However, the first submarine of the
new class will be manned by 48. “The
idea is to have a larger number of
crew members sufficiently trained to
undertake port and sea trials”, explains
Lieutenant Commander Iranzo.
Once officially unveiled, the process
of transferring the S-81 to the water, by
means of a floodable dock, is scheduled
to begin. After this manoeuvre, the “longawaited
port and sea trials” will begin,
as the members of the submarine’s keel
crew made clear to the Royal Family at
the conclusion of the launching of the
vessel.
The first battery charging, the first
start of the diesel engines and forward
and reverse engine operations with
the ship moored will be
some of the tests to be
carried out. “Milestones
afloat in port”, as defined
by Lieutenant Commander
Iranzo, which will last for
the next eight months.
This will be followed by
“the last major milestone
in the construction of
a submarine”, he adds
—sea trials— which will
last about a year, first with
a surface launch and then
“in static immersion, very
close to La Algameca, using
the same procedure as for
Galerna class submarines
(S-70) after undergoing
large-scale work at the
The S-80 programme is the biggest industrial and technological
challenge facing the national defence industry.
42 Revista Española de Defensa August 2021
Navantia
Navantia