Navantia: 1294252

Artist’s impression of the S-80A submarine at sea. Rejecting suggestions that it is merely a
scaled-up derivative of the Scorpene, Navantia insists the S-80A is “all new from the keel up”.

Spain’s S-80A submarine

comes up to the surface
Navantia believes the Armada Española’s next-generation S-80A design will
establish its credentials as a submarine prime contractor and systems integrator.
Richard Scott reports on the evolution and contents of the submarine programme

A
cigar-shaped steel hull sited to over- sive power and control while submerged. nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN),
look the waterfront in the historic Today, just over 1 km from where this the S-80A weapon system will be similar to
naval port of Cartagena, on the little piece of naval history stands, the that of a modern SSN in many respects,
southeast coast of the Iberian peninsula, frames are being welded and the steel including the ability to fire land-attack
serves as a reminder that Spain has been shaped at Navantia’s Cartagena shipyard cruise missiles.
involved in the design and construction of for a new class of submarine some 10 gen- A first few rings of the pressure hull of
submarines for more than 120 years. erations removed from Isaac Peral. These the first of class — the as yet unnamed
This monument is in fact the Isaac Peral, are the structures of the new S-80A design, S-81 — are already assembled. However, it
the world’s first electrically powered sub- the most advanced submarine ever to be will be the conclusion of the programme’s
mersible vessel, launched from the San built for the Armada Española and, accord- Critical Design Review, scheduled for sign-
Fernando shipyard in 1888. ing to both Navantia and its customer, ing off at the end of November 2007, that
Although primitive by modern standards, a true ocean-going force-projection asset will sanction the release of detailed engi-
it was in its day a trailblazer. As well as that will set new standards in non-nuclear neering drawings to the shopfloor.
pioneering new concepts in hull design, it submarine performance when delivered in In advance, Navantia has already com-
also demonstrated its ability to fire White- 2013. Indeed, putting aside the absolute pleted source selection and concluded
head torpedoes and maintain full propul- speed, mobility and power available to a commercial terms for all major S-80A

26 jni.janes.com ■ JANE’S NAVY INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2007

subsystems, contracting for equipment from While by no means complacent, Navantia warfare] and ASuW [anti-surface warfare] in
a diverse international supplier base. Its 400- believes its experience as a platform system local waters, the S-80A is a far more able
strong engineering team has been utilising integrator, rather than a submarine builder ocean-capable design, incorporating AIP [air-
the FORAN computer-aided design (CAD) per se, will count in its favour. So too, it independent propulsion] as standard, offer-
tool to progressively refine the three-dimen- suggests, will the experience of its Faba ing longer range and endurance, and afford-
sional electronic design in preparation for Systems subsidiary, which is taking a piv- ing a strategic force-projection capability.”
its release to manufacture. otal role as design authority for the supply Like for like, the S-80A is about 30 per
Additionally, a series of land-based test of the Integrated Platform Management cent bigger than the Scorpene (it is only 4.5 m
facilities are beginning to take shape to System (IPMS) and, in partnership with longer but has a larger hull diameter of 7.3 m
de-risk and demonstrate a number of dev- Lockheed Martin, the combat system core. vice 6.2 m). Submerged displacement works
elopmental integrated systems critical to out at 2,400 tonnes, significantly greater
the capability of the submarine. Different beasts than the 1,740 tonnes of the Scorpene.
While the S-80A design solution has been “There are also important differences in
driven by the specific operational require- The very provenance of the S-80A design the hydrodynamic form,” says Miguelez.
ments of the Spanish Navy, Navantia also is something that Navantia is anxious to “Yes, the two designs share a classic Alba-
sees it as the baseline for an export design clarify, the company de-basing the miscon- core hullform, but the S-80A has some-
intended to compete at the ‘high end’ of ception that it is nothing more than a what larger rudder control surfaces, and
the non-nuclear submarine market. Having scaled-up derivative of the Scorpene export the fin position on the hull is different.”
latterly collaborated with France’s DCNS design jointly offered to the international It is, however, ‘under the skin’ where the
on the Scorpene design — sold to Chile, market in partnership with DCNS. While different genealogy of the S-80A becomes
India and Malaysia — Navantia believes it the two designs may exhibit a superficial far more apparent. “The Scorpene is an
is ready to strike out alone in an effort to resemblance in their general arrangement export design which, for quite obvious rea-
replicate the international success already and hydrodynamic form, they are in fact sons, is largely based on systems and equip-
enjoyed by its surface shipbuilding arm; very different beasts in terms of their size, ment provided by a French supplier base,”
indeed, Turkey has publicly declared the engineering design, equipment outfit and Miguelez points out.
S-80A as one of the candidates for its next operational performance, according to Fer- He continues: “As Spanish industry only
submarine requirement alongside rival pro- nando Miguelez, director of Navantia’s offers solutions in certain niche areas, for
posals from DCNS and ThyssenKrupp- Cartagena shipyard. the S-80A we have gone out to the world
owned HDW. “The simple fact is that the S-80A is an market to source the ‘best of breed’ equip-
Of course, the challenges inherent in all-new design from the keel up… there has ment to suit the Spanish Navy’s perfor-
the design, development, manufacture, in- been nothing taken from the Scorpene, and mance specification.”
tegration, test and acceptance of a brand the two project teams are run by different The end result, he says, will be “a highly
new submarine design — and one incorp- managers in different buildings,” he says. automated, ultra-quiet boat with a com-
orating so many new-to-type systems — “This is a new submarine designed from pletely new set of equipment being supplied
are not lost on any independent observer, scratch by Navantia to match the Spanish from a wide range of vendors across plat-
nor on Navantia’s project management Navy’s specific operational requirement forms, machinery and combat systems”.
team. The chronic problems and delays and operating profile, which calls for a There are also several technical innova-
afflicting the Royal Australian Navy’s Col- submarine offering performance some way tions that mark the S-80A out from the
lins-class submarine programme perhaps in excess of the Scorpene. crowd. “We are installing a new AIP system
resonate most, given that this was a simi- “Whereas the Scorpene is based on the use of Ethanol reformer cell
larly ambitious and complex engineering very much a defensive technology; adopting a truly open, inte-
endeavour that also attempted to emu- submarine, designed grated combat system architecture; and
late many of the fighting characteris- for ASW [anti- using a positive discharge weapon launch
tics of an SSN. submarine system that will be fully prepared for the
The first pressure
hull rings for S-81
are taking shape
inside Navantia’s
Cartagena yard.

Navantia: 12942523

DECEMBER 2007 JANE’S NAVY INTERNATIONAL ■ jni.janes.com 27

 meet the updated requirements set. This
resulted in a larger-diameter boat re-desig-
nated as S-80A, the ‘A’ suffix being added
to indicate the substantial evolution from
the original S-80 concept.
A government go-ahead for the S-80A
programme finally arrived in September
2003. This was followed in March 2004 by
the award of a design-and-build contract
to what is now Navantia, for an initial four
boats to be delivered from 2011.
However, a government-led decision on
the principal industry partner for the combat
system was not forthcoming until 2005. This
delay has had a significant impact on the
master schedule, given the complex inter-
dependencies between the platform and
combat system, with the delivery of S-81
now re-baselined for 2013. All three follow-
on boats are due for handover by the end
of 2015.

Design aspects
Navantia: 12942523

Adopting a single-hull ‘teardrop’ or Alba-

core design, the external form of the S-80A
has been optimised to reduce self-noise.
S-80A general arrangement. “The hullform has been subject to exten-
sive modelling, simulation and testing to
prove its flow self-noise characteristics,”
Tomahawk land attack missile from the impacting his command and the submarine reports Mauricio Alvarez Ortiz, Navantia’s
outset,” Miguelez says. “We are also intro- community as a whole. “The strategic guid- S-80 programme manager. “This has inc-
ducing a high level of automation into the ance issued by the AJEMA in January 2002 luded tow tank testing [at SSPA in Goth-
design to permit a crew of just 32.” made it clear that naval operations involving enburg, Sweden] to validate the hydro-
power projection over land and protecting dynamic characteristics. Tow tank test also
Origins in ALTAMAR naval and land forces in shallow waters are proved the design of the skew-bladed fixed-
more likely than conventional naval combat,” pitch propeller.”
The genesis of what was, in its original he said. “For the submarine force, that means The decision to go for a conventional cru-
form, the Serie 80 (S-80) programme can building on our classic missions of anti-sub- ciform rudder configuration, rather than an
be traced as far back as 1989 when the marine warfare and anti-surface warfare to X-form arrangement, was the subject of
Armada first promulgated its ambitious embrace a range of additional tasks. significant analysis and debate within the
recapitalisation programme under Plan “These include naval power projection; design team. “We looked very hard at an
ALTAMAR. Early submarine concept and support to special operations; intelligence, X-form design,” Alvarez says, “and acknow-
feasibility study work concluded in 1991, surveillance and reconnaissance; indicators ledge that it offers some advantages in
but it was not until July 1997 that S-80 and warnings; amphibious/land force pro- manoeuvring and control.”
project activity began in earnest. tection; deterrence; offensive mining; task But in the final analysis it was the better
A mission needs document was approved group support; and naval force protection. intrinsic safety of the classic cruciform
in September that year, with a draft naval “A consequence of this was the need to arrangement that convinced Navantia. “In
staff target circulated in November and look again at the staff requirement for the the event of a control system failure, the
subsequently formalised in April 1998. Foll- S-80. In particular, we confirmed the need cruciform surfaces can be operated effec-
owing approval of the formal naval staff for AIP, which was previously regarded as tively with just two sticks,” Alvarez says.
requirement by the Almirante Jefe del Est- an option only.” “Manual operation of an X-form rudder
ado Mayor de la Armada (AJEMA) in Oct- Capt Munoz-Delgado added: “We also is far more difficult in the manual rever-
ober 1998, Empresa Nacional Bazan (later recognised the need for the submarine to sionary condition.”
incarnated as IZAR and latterly Navantia) make a substantial contribution at force He points out that safety and survivabil-
was awarded a two-year project definition level. This demands a reliable and assured ity have been given a high priority in the
contract in November 1999. This activity system of communications and real-time design philosophy. “We have sought a
concluded in October 2001. information exchange.” greater safety operating envelope than oth-
At this juncture the development pro- This new thinking was enshrined by the er submarines, and have specified a high
gramme took a new turn. The Spanish Spanish government’s strategic defence level of emergency recoverability. This can
Navy, in reviewing the original require- review, published in February 2003, which be attributed to the excellent performance
ments captured in its statement of oper- reaffirmed the need to acquire a new sub- of both the aft hydroplanes and the emer-
ational need, judged that the staff require- marine capability. It also set out a require- gency ballast tank blowing system.”
ment needed to better reflect new missions ment to have a minimum of two submarines According to Alvarez, the excellent depth-
and operating patterns consequent of the available to be deployed concurrently on plane control performance accorded by the
changed post-Cold War strategic situation. separate operations; noted the importance S-80A will mean no limitations in speed
As a result, the naval staff requirement was of AIP to extend submerged endurance; and with depth. Furthermore, the boat will be
revisited and updated, being approved by recognised the ability of submarines to con- highly responsive, “being able to perform a
the AJEMA in its new form in July 2002. tribute to force projection by launching ‘crash stop’ in less than 80 seconds or five
Speaking at the IQPC Underwater Bat- deep-strike weapons against land targets. lengths, and able to dive from periscope
tlespace conference in London, UK, in The corollary for the S-80 programme depth to 100 m [assuming a speed of 5 kt
January 2005, the then commander of the was a second definition phase, starting in while ‘snorting’] in just 50 seconds”.
Spanish submarine flotilla, Captain Jaime November 2002, that saw IZAR (as was) Modelling of depth-keeping at periscope
Munoz-Delgado, described the changes tasked to re-engineer the original design to depth suggests no snort mast immersions or

28 jni.janes.com ■ JANE’S NAVY INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2007

sail emergencies while snorkelling in cond- emissions) and the selective application of a 300 kW AIP system based on reformed
itions up to Sea State 6. Control speed, using radar-absorbent material around the masts. ethanol and liquid oxygen. The latter sys-
the ‘Chinese’ effect of the hydroplanes, is The pressure hull structure itself will be tem, seen as one of the S-80A’s principal
just 2.8 kt. “Most submarines struggle to formed from HLES 80 steel, the same mat- performance discriminators, is being devel-
go at less than 4 kt,” says Alvarez, “so the erial as used for Scorpene. “Finite element oped by Navantia in conjunction with UTC
S-80A will benefit from enhanced manoeu- models were used to calculate collapse pres- Power and Hynergreen, with a land-based
vrability — something that is very important sure, their predictions then being validated by test site to be built at Cartagena to prove
while operating in shallow-water conditions the manufacture of a sub-scale [6.8 m length the system and allow for an evaluation of
— and reduced noise.” and 1.46 m diameter] pressure hull model,” long-endurance performance.
In seeking to minimise vulnerability and says Alvarez. “This was used to test the real “UTC is, we believe, the best in the
achieve maximum stealth, Navantia has con- pressure of collapse in as-built conditions.” world in this area,” says Alvarez. “They are
ducted extensive signature studies looking Manufacture of the fore and aft pressure the pioneers in fuel-cell technology, with
at the widest possible range of acoustic and domes for the first two boats has been out- over 40 years’ experience and a range of
non-acoustic influences, the latter including sourced to BAE Systems Submarine Solu- expertise in different fuel-cell types. The
magnetic, electrostatic, ELFE (extra-low fre- tions in Barrow, UK. “Each dome has a large open anode proton exchange membrane
quency electric), radar, pressure, wake and number of penetrations,” explains Alvarez, technology we will use is unique to UTC,
visual. “The combat system has been de- “and we decided to find a specialist subcon- and represents the very best technology
signed to be fitted in a noise-optimised plat- tractor for these structures. The domes for available today.”
form,” remarks Alvarez. “Our self-noise cal- boats three and four will be partly assembled The full AIP system will be accommo-
culations are now being used to optimise the in Barrow then completed in Cartagena.” dated in a 7.89 m section in the centre
positioning of the sonar arrays on the hull.” Navantia has, under the terms of a frame- part of the boat. This will be split horizon-
Significant attention has also been paid work contract, accessed specialist technical tally into two separate compartments:
to minimising target echo strength. At this advice and design assurance from UK sci- the fuel-cell system, bio-ethanol proces-
stage the Spanish Navy has decided not ence and technology group QinetiQ. This sor, power-conditioning system, CO2 dis-
to fit anechoic tiling, “although the option has included support in the areas of hydro- posal system and auxiliaries on an upper
remains for their fitting at a later date dynamics, structures, shock, signatures, vul- deck; and the liquid oxygen tank fitted
should requirements dictate”, Alvarez says. nerability and towed-array handling. in a lower compartment.
Machinery, selected for inherent low vib- Navantia is confident it can deliver the
ration and airborne noise characteristics, Platform and propulsion Spanish Navy’s requirement for an AIP sol-
will be fitted on shock/noise mounts and ution providing an endurance of 15 days at
then grouped on floating rafts in the pres- The propulsion plant developed for the 4 kt (assuming a nominal 110 kW hotel
sure hull. Flexible couplings are employed S-80A is a hybrid arrangement of classic load). “If you can switch off non-essential
to ensure that equipment and systems are diesel-electric (combining three 1,200 kW- power consumers and reduce hotel load to
isolated from the hull. Other signature re- rated Navantia MTU 16 V 396 SE 84L – 50 kW, then endurance could be extended
duction measures include a diesel exhaust GB31L diesel alternator rectifier sets and to 20 days,” says Alvarez. “Alternatively, a
gas diffuser (to suppress thermal and noise two 180-cell groups of Tudor batteries) and submarine on the bottom could conserve

8 Q W L W O H G   2007
DECEMBER  JANE’S NAVY INTERNATIONAL ■ jni.janes.com               D P 29
 power, and therefore prolong its sub- programme will see the first implementation development and provide a high-fidelity
merged endurance, by removing the pro- of a submarine IPMS by the company. Op- test and simulation environment.
pulsion load.” erated from two Sainsel-supplied CONAM Italy’s Avio SpA is supplying its GAUDI
Installed power is put to work by a 3,500 kW consoles, this highly automated Sistema de (Guidance Automation Unit Distributed Int-
synchronous AC permanent magnet motor Control de Platforma (SCP) will control elligence) steering-control system to Faba
driving a single shaft. “We have sourced and monitor equipment throughout the Systems for the S-80A programme. Based
this from Gamesa Cantarey in Cantabria,” vessel, taking signals from the propulsion on a distributed architecture, GAUDI is
says Alvarez. “Their design [a prototype of plant, AIP system, auxiliaries, safety sys- claimed by its manufacturer to offer greater
which has already undergone successful tems, steering station and combat system. flexibility, survivability and reliability than
testing] is based on four three-phase semi- Local service stations distributed around more conventional centralised systems.
motors and features IGBT [insulated gate the submarine will collect and transmit sig-
bipolar transistor] power electronics con- nals over the SCP network. Combat core
trolled by pulse-wave modulation. A damage-control system is embedded
“It is lightweight, compact, quadruple- in the SCP. Other functionality includes One of the most critical and contentious
redundant and offers shock performance condition-based monitoring and diagnos- decisions in the formative years of the S-80A
double that of the competition,” says Alva- tics, and onboard training. programme was that concerning the archi-
rez. “And, importantly for safety, it can Faba acknowledges that the biggest chal- tecture of the combat system core. Following
continue operating in the event of a cooling lenge in the development of the S-80A’s a protracted evaluation of competing solu-
system failure.” SCP is the safety-critical nature of the tions, culminating in a face-off between US
Although Navantia’s Faba Systems div- system. Accordingly, a land-based test and rivals Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, the
ision is long established as a supplier of reference system is about to start building former was in 2005 selected to partner Faba
IPMS systems for surface ships, the S-80A at Faba’s Cartagena facility to support Systems in the design, development and inte-
gration of a fully integrated combat system
core that included a multi-array sonar suite
and associated processing functionality,
a command-and-control subsystem and a
weapon-control subsystem.
The adoption of an open-system archi-
tecture, leveraging commercial off-the-shelf
technology already proven on the US Navy’s
Virginia- and Los Angeles-class SSNs, is
intrinsic to the combat management and
weapon-control system and its associated
integrated sonar suite, says Ramón Andréu,
Navantia’s S-80A combat system manager.
“What we are getting is in many respects a
scaled version of the system going aboard
the Virginia class,” he says. “It will also
enable the S-80A to keep pace with the int-
roduction of new technology and capabili-
ties for enhanced performance and greatly
reduced cost over the life of the platform.”
Navantia: 12942525

At the heart of the S-80A combat system

are seven Sainsel CONAM SUB multi-
function common consoles. “The mantra
is ‘any function, any console’,” says And-
réu. “Each will be capable of processing
and displaying sensor data, or alternatively
employed for tactical functions such as
(Above) S-80A mast arrangement. track management, weapon planning and
weapon control.”
He continues: “The first CONAM SUB
shipsets are due for delivery from Sainsel
by the end of 2007. Seven consoles will
go to the Lockheed Martin land-based
test site in Manassas [Virginia], with an-
other seven going to Faba to populate
their combat system core land-based test
site in San Fernando.”
A multi-array integrated sonar system
supplied by Lockheed Martin (EDO has
been subcontracted to manufacture the
sonar outboard elements) features cylind-
rical, passive-ranging, wide-aperture flank,
acoustic intercept, and mine- and obstacle-
detection arrays, together with an own-noise
Navantia: 12942526

monitoring system. Also integrated into the

sonar suite is the indigenous SAES Solarsub
low-frequency towed-array sonar (for which
QinetiQ is managing the acquisition of a
reelable handling system).
As regards above-water sensors, the
The S-80A will be delivered ‘Tomahawk-ready’, according to Navantia. Weapons already earmarked S-80A is specified with a comprehensive
include the DM2A4 heavyweight torpedo and the Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missile. suite comprising optronics, electronic sup-

30 jni.janes.com ■ JANE’S NAVY INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2007

port measures (ESM), a low-probability-of- of its ARIES-S LPI radar,” Andréu adds. Mincoa multi-influence mine.
intercept (LPI) radar, IFF (identification Part of the ARIES family of frequency- One specific feature of the WHDS is
friend-or-foe) and AIS (automatic identi- modulated continuous-wave LPI radars, the ability to automatically eject mines in
fication system). These pieces of equipment, the ARIES-S variant has been designed to sequence, using all six torpedo tubes in alt-
together with communications antennas, fit in a non-hull-penetrating architecture, ernation. Furthermore, says Alvarez, the
will be raised using universal modular masts with the transmitter/receiver unit sized for WHDS has been designed to be ‘Toma-
supplied by Calzoni. installation inside a submarine mast. hawk-ready’. “We have been provided with
Having considered the option of specify- The integrated communication system all the information necessary to ensure that
ing two non-hull-penetrating optronic specified for S-80A by Faba Systems will the structures, handling system and braces
masts, the Spanish Navy has opted for a be based around an EID ICCS-5 commu- are all fully prepared to take the weapon.
more conservative approach that will see nications control system and Rohde & Provision has also been made in the design
the S-80A fitted with a conventional attack Schwarz radio equipment. Antenna sub- — in terms of space, power and interfaces
periscope (incorporating a thermal imager systems are being furnished by Aeromari- — for the associated control hardware in
and low-light TV) alongside a non-hull- time, Nereides, Dowding and Mills and the weapon compartment.”
penetrating surveillance mast (combining a Calzoni. Indra is supplying an SHF satel- As well as the WHDS, Weir Strachan &
high-definition TV, a colour camera, a ther- lite communications terminal, thought to Henshaw is supplying a countermeasures
mal imager and a laser rangefinder). Koll- be a derivative of the company’s TSUB sat- ejector system for the S-80A programme. A
morgen Electro-Optical has been contrac- com equipment. Andréu also notes that total of 20 ejectors are fitted under the
ted to supply both pieces of equipment S-80A “will be Link 22-enabled”, with submarine casing aft of the fin, with space
(designated Model 2010 AP and Model Spanish company Tecnobit supplying the reserved forward for a further 10 systems.
2010 OS), with Indra providing its MVT datalink processor terminal. Alongside its standard complement of 32
640 3–5 µm thermal imager for both. crew members, the S-80A will have perm-
The Pegaso ESM suite is a home-grown Firepower anent accommodation for a force of eight
product from Indra based on wideband special forces personnel. A lock-in/lock-out
digital receiver technology, combining func- Weir Strachan & Henshaw is supplying hatch is fitted for the egress and entry of
tionality for radar and communications the weapon-handling and discharge system special forces divers. ■
band intercept and analysis. According to (WHDS) for the S-80A programme. Com-
Andréu: “The system features two separate prising six torpedo tubes with positive air
antennas: a main omnidirectional/direc- discharge provided by two rotary air-tur- RELATED ARTICLES:
● Submarine forces, juws.janes.com, 18.10.07
tion-finding antenna on the dedicated bine pumps, the WHDS will be able to host
● Spanish order for submarine pressure hull domes
ESM mast, and a secondary antenna atop and launch torpedoes, mines and missiles. comes to UK, jni.janes.com, 02.05.07
the optronic mast. Weapons already earmarked for the S-80A ● DCN, Navantia face split over submarine designs,
“Indra is also responsible for supplying submarine comprise the Atlas Elektronik jdw.janes.com, 31.10.06
an IFF transponder [the TXP-25 Mk XIIA DM2A4 electrically powered heavyweight ● Pegaso to protect S-80A submarines,
supporting Mode 5/S] and a navigation wire-guided torpedo; the Boeing Sub- jdw.janes.com, 27.07.06
and surface surveillance radar in the shape Harpoon anti-ship missile; and the SAES

    


    
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