At its shipyard in Cartagena on 3 October 2025 Navantia hosted the naming ceremony for the Spanish Navy’s second S-80-class submarine: S-82 Narciso Monturiol.
The event, presided over by Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles, took place next to the facility where the final outfitting of the submarine was completed. This is the step before the vessel is placed in the water using a floating dock, a manoeuvre that takes several hours and will be carried out in the coming weeks.
S-82 will be then ready to begin harbour trials and then sea trials, which include surface navigation and submersion to maximum depth.
The S-80 submarines have an overall length of 80.8 m, a diameter of 7.3 m and a submerged displacement of around 3,000 tonnes. They feature a combat and platform control system developed by Navantia’s Systems business unit and all boats in the class will ultimately have a revolutionary air-independent propulsion system, called BEST-AIP, that provides great stealth while submerged. The system allows the generation of electrical energy at any depth from fuel cells using technology derived from the aerospace sector. Thus, the S-80-class boats can remain submerged for weeks without surfacing to periscope depth.
However, first-in-class Isaac Peral (S-81), which was commissioned on 30 November 2023, and second-in-class Narciso Monturiol will not initially receive an AIP system but will have one retrofitted during their first major overhauls.
Navantia reported in November 2024 that the first installation of an AIP system into an S-80-class submarine – third-in-class Cosme Garcia (S-83) – had been completed.
Construction of the four S-80-class boats was authorised in 2003, with deliveries originally expected to begin around 2015, but excessive weight issues and a consequently required redesign caused significant delays. The redesigned class is now larger than when first conceived, with a length of 81 m instead of 71 m and a 3,000-tonne submerged displacement instead of 2,465 tonnes.
The submarines are armed with six 21-inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes and can carry heavyweight torpedoes, mines and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
