Spanish shipbuilding giant Navantia has started work on the specifications for a new SIGINT ship for the Spanish Navy.
As per a recent company press release, following approval from Spain’s Council of Ministers the firm has started “carrying out engineering studies through which a naval platform will be defined” for the future signals intelligence (SIGINT) vessel, designated as BAM AGI.
The proposed warship will replace the Alerta A-111, the only existing intelligence-gathering ship operated by the Spanish Navy, as she nears the end of her operational life.
This vessel, previously named Jasmund, had been bought from the German Navy in 1992. The Darss-class vessel had been built as an East German transport ship by the Neptun Weft shipyard in the 1980s, then later repurposed.
Navantia’s contract for preliminary works on the BAM AGI is valued at €14 million and will take an estimated 11 months to complete. The ship’s twin purposes will be intelligence gathering and conducting electronic warfare.
The firm’s statement noted: “This vessel, which is part of the Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence, will provide the Navy with advanced capabilities for signal interception, cyber defence, and naval electronic warfare.
“Its intelligence system originates from the Santiago programme, which aims to modernise the systems used to obtain and analyse signal and emission data from potential threats for the three branches of the armed forces.”
- You can read more details on the Navantia website