Dive, Dive, Dive: Calculations show that the S-80 would sink like a stone. Photo: Navantia
Posted on 05/20/2013 11:16:35 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
€530m bill for Spain's 'sinking submarines'
A defence contract worth €2.2 billion has hit the rocks after tests showed that the "world's most modern" submarine would plunge straight to the bottom of the sea.
Sunday's El Mundo newspaper reported on the latest developments in the submarine saga that has given Spain's defence department a sinking feeling.
The €2.2 billion contract to design and build four S-80 underwater craft, billed as "the most modern submarine in the word" has been put on red alert after engineers found flaws in the plans and sounded the klaxon.
€530 million had already been spent when calculations made by engineers at Navantia, the construction firm, revealed that the submarine as designed would dive to the bottom of the sea and stay there due to excess weight.
Opposition party United Left has mocked the development in parliament and demanded explanations.
Two possible solutions have been proposed to help the fat-bottomed sub get off the ground: trim its weight or make it longer.
The second is more feasible but also more expensive as every extra metre added to the submarine would increase its cost by more than €7.5 million.
The president of the Navantia board has defended the work of the company's Cartagena shipyard and complained of "meddling" by unqualified people.
He explained that it had been reported as far back as 2005 that the development process was not being properly followed and that there was a lot of necessary improvisation due to the addition of new elements at the request of the Ministry of Defence.
The Spanish navy will take delivery of the four submarines next year, in the hope that they will be capable of floating.
Steve Tallantyre
Dive, Dive, Dive: Calculations show that the S-80 would sink like a stone. Photo: Navantia
So, it can sink just great, but the part where it comes back up is iffy?
They are already building 4 of them? Will they be adding floaties to them?
Maybe they can sell them to the Muslim Brotherhood
They already funded pilots to learn how to take off....but not to land.
lol
I think I see the problem.
How can it be possible to build four “advanced” submarines, let alone sinky bathtub toys for pomp and show for 2.2 billion Euros?! Yikes!
Exactly. Something about those socialist Euroweenies...
Kind of like France building an aircraft carrier where you can’t see out of the control tower windows, too short to land AWACS planes, loses a propeller on the maiden voyage and almost shakes apart when all the washing machines are running (test, would never actually use them in real life)
went north to kick England's ass back in 1588.
Why on earth would Spain need a navy beyond a coast Guard type rescue and territorial patrol force?
And their 2.2 billin Euros in subs can be neutralized with 3 or 4 bombs on commuter trains. They are broke, have no real need, and will engage in no military mission that could not be ended with a few terror attacks.
This is what happens when your engineers get a 3 hour siesta every day...
tres, cuatro, sinko, baby!
At any moment the UN may try to force them to take back their dysfunctional American colonies. They need the means to resist.
BTW, one of their more successful colonies builds pretty good submarines out of fiberglass in jungle boat yards. How hard can this be? Wonder if the caballeros of olde Spain thought of maybe outsourcing? http://sabotagetimes.com/life/narco-submarines-of-the-colombian-jungle/
cool
Spain is the petri dish of proof that the EU and free trade do not work
Their subs sink faster than their economy does
Those engineers were all educated after the schools removed the section on buoyancy from the science textbooks.
For Israel the German Dolphin-class u-boats work very well. http://defense-update.com/20130429_israels-navy-receives-the-fifth-dolphin-submarine.html
And Germany gets another Type 212 u-boat http://sundodgers.com/2013/05/17/
Latest exercises with U 32:
http://seefahrer.blog.de/2013/04/24/manoevertagebuch-westlant-deployment-u-32-15-20-15785812/ (there is a Microsoft-Translator on the right side)
http://seefahrer.blog.de/2013/04/03/manoevertagebuch-westlant-deployment-30-15713582/
http://seefahrer.blog.de/2013/05/18/manoevertagebuch-westlant-deployment-11-13-05-u-16010202/
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