“There Are Many Similarities Between the MILDEN and S-80 Submarines”
Defence Turkey: How would you best describe the state-owned Spanish naval shipbuilder Navantia today? Even though its main line of activity is in the naval field, Navantia also designs and manufactures systems for the Army and the Air Force. Could you please provide some key facts about the company for our readers?
Agustín BLANCO: Navantia is a Spanish state-owned naval shipbuilding company that provides the industrial and technological response to the National Defense and Security forces, by providing its essential naval capability. The company has its own technological capacity to deliver solutions end to end, in the shipbuilding and in the Systems domain, to the Ministry of Defense.
Navantia has an international projection offering global solutions to clients and partners around the world, reinforcing the Spanish Brand and boosting Spanish exports and direct foreign investment. Its presence stands out in countries such as Australia, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and India, among others.
The close relationship with a crucial customer like the Spanish Navy and the Ministry of Defense has allowed us to build excellent products like the F-100 & F-110 frigates, the Juan Carlos I LHD, or the S-80 Submarine. All of them leading to a great impact into the international market.
Navantia has vast experience as a transfer of technology (ToT) partner having proved its value in a myriad of industrial scenarios. Our experience as a main contractor and systems integrator provides a clear advantage to our partners, land forces and other defense institutions around the world.
Focused on innovation, Navantia invests increasingly in R&D projects, the basis for products and more efficient, competitive, and exportable services. Navantia is going through a digital transformation that includes not only products and services, but also processes and people. This is the deepest challenge the company has ever gone through.
In addition, Navantia has an important social role, generating a great growth and job creation in the regions where it operates, providing jobs of high quality and technological sophistication.
Defence Turkey: Focusing on Turkey now, can you elaborate on Navantia’s approach to Turkish Navy’s MILDEN (short for Milli Denizaltı, which translates to ‘National Submarine’) Program? Expected to have an overall length of between 70m to 80m and submerge displacement of between 2.500t – 3.000t, MILDEN submarines are planned to be powered by an indigenously developed hybrid propulsion system composing 6 PEM Fuel Cell Modules (able to generate 300kW+ power in total), a Methanol Reformer System and Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB) sets.
Agustín BLANCO: The Turkish Defense Industry has greatly increased its capabilities in the last twenty years. The country, through SSB Industries, has carried out an admirable effort developing local projects that can now be exported and compete in a global market. There are similarities between Turkey’s defense industry and Navantia’s recent history. Navantia started building ships and submarines following foreign designs, then the company acquired enough knowledge to design its own surface ships, and succeeded in developing the F-100 frigate, that now has a sister vessel serving in three different navies. We now wish to reproduce the successful experience we had with surface vessels with our own submarine, the S-80. The Program was born out of our experience in submarine shipbuilding and our strong engineering background. But even with more than 20 years building submarines, we faced challenges in the early stages of the S-80 Program. We had to introduce some modifications to the original plan and make a revision of the schedule. Beginnings always require an effort, especially when it comes to prototypes and even more so in the case of submarines, the most sophisticated vessel.
Defence Turkey: How would you assess the current level of cooperation between the Navantia and Turkish Industry? Do you believe Navantia and Turkish Naval Industry can establish cooperation, at least at Technologic Support Provider (TSP) level, under MILDEN Program?
Agustín BLANCO: There seems to be many similarities between the MILDEN and S-80 Submarines. Not only in the specifications of the vessel (similar size, capabilities, and propulsion system) but also in the Program itself. A very ambitious and powerful program, with a high level of risk, being the MILDEN the first submarine design and built in Turkey. Navantia has walked this path before and, thus, we are in a good position to offer our expertise to assist in the MILDEN Program, to help and avoid those difficulties we hit when we began the construction of the S-80. At the end, a delay in a Program means cost overruns and delays that will not allow the unit to be in service for the country in the expected schedule.
Defence Turkey: Would you like to add anything as a message to our readers?
NAVANTIA: After being present in Turkey for almost 10 years, and working side by side with Turkish companies, Navantia is in a position to assist the Turkish Navy and the Turkish Defense Industry and, what is more important, it can be done locally due to the to the existence of Navantia Turkey.
On the other hand, Navantia appreciates the outstanding products developed by the Turkish Defense Industry in recent years. In the future, the company wishes to increase Turkish equipment and components in its vessels, as they have proven to be of the highest performance and really good value for money, in line with Navantia objectives.
Finally, I would like to thank you and your magazine, Defense Turkey, for the chance to speak on behalf of Navantia.
Defence Turkey: Mr. BLANCO, thank you for sparing time for our readers
