Philippines receives offer for new S80 Isaac Peral-class submarine from Spain’s Navantia

 

The first ship of the Isaac Peral-class built for the Spanish Armada. Photo c/o H. I. Sutton.

Spanish naval shipbuilder Navantia has confirmed to the press that it has pitched an offer to sell submarines and build a submarine base and training center for the Philippine Navy (PN).

Navantia’s Commercial Manager for Asia Mr. Guillermo Zamarripa confirmed that it has offered a “complete solution to the Philippine Navy which includes the supply of two S80 Isaac Peral-class diesel-electric submarines, together with the design and construction of a new submarine base and submarine training center, and providing training which are to become the foundation of the country’s Submarine Force.

The submarines are designed and built in Navantia’s shipyard in Cartagena, Spain, and is considered a long range conventional attack submarine equipped with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, which enables the submarine to stay underwater for three weeks without surfacing. This is an advantage compared to submarines without AIP system which can only stay underwater for a few days before surfacing to recharge its batteries.

Despite the use for defensive and deterrence against foreign aggression, the S80 Isaac Peral-class can be armed with Harpoon submarine-launched anti-ship missile and Tomahawk submarine-launched land attack cruise missiles, subject to US Government approval.

Navantia also proposed to build a new submarine base complete with infrastructure, a training facility, and logistics support in Ormoc, Leyte province, which is said to be an ideal site due to its geographic location that helps protect it from extreme weather, low seismic risk, its proximity to an existing city, airport and port facilities.

Financing will also be provided by the Spanish Government, which is offering a sovereign guarantee for a loan worth 100% of the total contract cost, payable to start only once the first submarine is delivered to the Philippine Navy.

Navantia is competing against France’s Naval Group which offered the Scorpene-class submarine similar to Brazil’s Riachuelo-class, and South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineeriing) with a variant of the Type 219-1400 dubbed the DSME 1400PN.

Both offers also include a package for 2 submarines, the design and construction of a submarine base and training facility, logistics support package and a soft loan package from their respective governments.

 

[1] Inquirer.net

[2] MaxDefense Philippines

[3] Philippine Defense Resource