10/07/2014
(Infodefensa.com) NF, Madrid - The Secretary of State for Defence, Pedro Argüelles, has confirmed that the first submarine S-80 manufactured by Navantia will be delivered to the Spanish Armada in 2018.
During the press presentation of the defense budgets for 2015, Arguelles said the problem of overweight submarine forcing redefine the design are done you can say that is already "a useful submarine".
The SEDEF also referred to delays in system development Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) that had hindered progress in submersible technology training, and said that in this area and "begin to see that milestones are being met."
When asked by the media for the current contractual relationship with the company Abengoa , responsible for developing the AIP, Argüelles said Abengoa remains the supplier of the system and hope that it can be integrated into the submarine. However, he confirmed that the Ministry held "conversations" with the company Technical Gathered to have a "plan B".
Despite the difficulties and delays in production of the new S-80, the Secretary of State wanted to convey a "comfort" that was two years ago.
The draft Law on State Budget ( PGE ) 2015 included in the section " Support for technological innovation in the field of defense " of the Ministry of Industry a game of 205 million euros for the S-80 program.