The Spanish Navy’s second S-80 Plus class submarine has been christened the Narciso Monturiol at a special ceremony at Navantia’s Cartagena shipyard.
The new 81-metre boat, which has been named after the inventor of the first air-independent and combustion-engine-driven submarine, is soon destined to follow the first-in-class sub Isaac Peral into active service following port and sea trials.
The conventionally-powered attack submarines use a third-generation Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system enabling them to remain submerged for weeks at a time without needing to rise to periscope depth. Their maximum endurance has been estimated at between 30 and 55 days.
Four of the 3,000-tonne boats are initially due to be built for La Armada, with an option for two more. The Narciso Monturiol is due to be commissioned in 2026 and the hulls of the other two boats, Cosme Garcia and Mateo García de los Reyes, have been laid down in the same shipyard. The third and fourth submarines are due to enter service in 2028 and 2029, respectively.
The submarines have a crew of 32 with accommodation for eight additional special forces soldiers as operationally required. They have six torpedo tubes and can optionally be fitted with Harpoon or Exocet anti-ship missiles; the Spanish Navy is also looking at arming the boats with a sub-launched version of Kongsberg’s Joint Strike Missile.
At the Narciso Monturiol’s naming ceremony on Friday, Spain’s Minister of Defence Margarita Robles commented: “It is the continuation of a path of success, work, progress and future to make our Navy, Cartagena, the region of Murcia and, above all, Spain great.”
Also in attendance was Navantia’s Director of Operations and Business Gonzalo Mateo-Guerrero, who highlighted the industrial, strategic, and commercial importance of the programme. Chief of the Defence Staff Teodoro López Calderón and the Chief of the Navy Staff Admiral Antonio Piñeiro were among the other dignitaries at the ceremony.
Hundreds of different companies are involved in the S-80 programme, which directly and indirectly employs in excess of 6,000 workers and contributes an estimated €250 million to the Spanish economy annually.
In the coming days the Narciso Monturiol will be moved into the water for the first time via a floodable dock.
- You can find more details on the Navantia website