The world’s most modern submarine
In addition to Eleonora, the ceremony was also attended by her parents, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles and the army leadership.According to the head of the ministry, the vessel launched on Thursday is the first “completely national submarine”, as it was built and designed by Spanish constructors. She recalled that the official ceremony for the handover of the unit to the army due to the pandemic was postponed until May.
Navantia CEO Ricardo Garcia-Baquero, who attended the ceremony, explained that the 17-year construction process by the company he heads was time-consuming as the new vessel is the most modern non-nuclear-powered vessel in the world. “Such a design required lengthy work,” he added.
He pointed out that the 80m-plus long vessel, which has fuel and electric engines, will undergo safety tests off the Spanish coast later in the first half of the year.
The Spanish navy has so far had only one submarine: the S-74 Tramontana. In addition to the S-81 Isaac Peral, the navy will soon add another three submarines being built by Navantia: the S-82, S-83 and S-84. These vessels are already in the final stages of assembly.
According to the daily El Mundo, the Indian Navy is the likely buyer of the next S-80 type vessels. The newspaper claims that the authorities of this country are planning to purchase six Spanish submarines.
