Navantia Closes the Resistant Hull of S81 “Isaac Peral” Submarine

Navantia has finalized, in the Cartagena facilities, the closure of the resistant hull of the S-81 ‘Isaac Peral’ submarine for the Spanish Navy, after the union of the last section of the ship.

The event has been attended by the General Director of Programs from the MoD, General Salvador Álvarez Pascual; the Chief of the Cartagena Arsenal, Vice Admiral Aniceto Rosique Nieto; the Director of Engineering and Construction, Vice Admiral Manuel Martínez Ruiz; the Chief of the Logistics Division, Admiral Gonzalo Sanz Alisedo; the Head of the Naval Systems Department of the DGAM, Nicolás Lapique Martín, and the Head of the S-80 Program, Javier del Corral. On behalf of NAVANTIA, the Director of Operations and Business, Gonzalo Mateo Guerrero-Alcázar; the Director of the Shipyard and S-80 submarines Program, Agustín Álvarez Blanco; the Director of Navantia Sistemas, Vicente Santamaría Calvario, and the head of the S-80 Program Office, Ignacio Núñez.

The event began with a brief tour of the submarine, where the progress of the construction of both the S-81 and S-82 submarines was shown. Next, a brief presentation of the submarine’s construction process was made, after which the Director of the Shipyard of Cartagena and the General Director of Programs from the MoD have given a speech, highlighting the importance of this event and the S-80 submarines program.

The closure of the resistant hull is a crucial milestone in the construction of a submarine, as it appears as a complete vessel. Previously, the loading of all the main modules has been carried out, as well as a very high level of completion of the sections. The next step is the completion of the fitting works and the beginning of the testing stage.

This step represents a change of phase. The work in the submarine is now focused on its launching, following a formal and regulated process, based on overcoming safety milestones. This process begins with the tensioning, when the submarine begins to receive electric current; then the battery boarding, to gain autonomy in power generation, and finally the floating and the sea trials. The scheduled date for floating is October 2020.

The S-80 Plus class (or Isaac Peral class) is a Spanish class of four submarines in production by the Spanish company Navantia in its Cartagena shipyard for the Spanish Navy. In common with other contemporary submarines, they feature air-independent propulsion. The lead ship in the class, the Isaac Peral (S-81), was planned to enter service in 2011, and the rest in 2012-14. The S80 is the most advanced conventional submarine in the world and also been offered for export. The planned date for launching is October 2020.