Navantia Completes Expansion of the S-80 Submarine Hull

The Navantia shipyard in Cartagena has completed the expansion of the pressure hull of the S-81 Plus submarine, the vessel on which redesign and construction efforts are now focused. It will have greater length and displacement, without losing the capabilities that will make it a new generation conventional submarine: AIP plant, land attack capability, systems integration, and high automation.

This fulfills the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Defense at the meeting of the S-80 Steering Committee in July 2013, which have been reiterated through a resolution from the Ministry of Defense. This expansion means that the five sections of the submarine are now available for the incorporation of its internal structures.

The design and construction program of the S-80 submarine is the most complex engineering project being undertaken at the national level. Navantia believes that “the technical difficulties that have arisen throughout the program are normal in the development and execution of a project that requires unprecedented technological solutions. A project of this nature demands being at the forefront of numerous technologies, which entails taking risks.”

Results from the redesign work on the submarine have included milestones such as the approval of the PDR (Preliminary Design Review) and the IPR last September. It is expected that the CDR (Critical Design Review) will be obtained later this year.

The problems that have arisen during the development of the program have been addressed through a complete restructuring of the program, the redesign of the submarine, and a thorough transformation of the Cartagena shipyard (including achieving the demanding certification under the aerospace and aeronautical standard EN9100), which will allow it to compete in the future in the foreign market.

At this moment, there is technical evidence that will allow for the closure of a final design of the submarine, for which ongoing R&D activities need to continue. This situation has led to the decision to focus technical and economic efforts this year on those critical activities that have a direct influence on the final design of the submarine. Activities such as engineering and construction tasks for the first submarine of the series (known as S-81 Plus), as well as training for the shipyard until reaching the CDR milestone and its final design.

By order of the Secretary of State for Defense, work will only be carried out on the S-81 Plus, and tasks that were being performed on the S-82, S-83, and S-84 will be postponed until the final design of the submarine is fully certified by all parties involved.

The possibility of having a national design in submarine construction implies technological independence in an essential aspect of national defense. Furthermore, the success of the program has several facets. On one hand, national defense is at stake, as the survival of the submarine force is in question, and on the other, the technological image of Spain; as well as the industrial and technological weight that Navantia-Cartagena holds in the Murcia region.

Photo: Navantia