The world’s first air-independent propulsion (AIP) system is being installed on a Spanish Navy S-80 Plus-class diesel-electric submarine in Cartagena. The Cosme Garcia (S-83) is the third out of the four subs in the S-80 class and is the first submarine with the AIP being installed. The AIP is able to work at any depth and in valid conditions, which makes it able to adapt to many Navy missions making it the most advanced AIP.
The AIP gets hydrogen from alcohol produced sustainably (bioethanol) and oxygen to generate electricity to recharge the batteries. It is able to generate enough electricity to make the sub submerged for two to three times longer. The bioethanol is produced by the bioethanol Processing System.
Being able to stay submerged underwater longer without going to the surface will allow the submarine to stay undetected. Submarines become easier to detect when they go up for oxygen, which is needed for diesel fuel.
The submarines were planned to be made in 2004, but design flaws affected the time by over a decade. The first sub of the class, Isaac Peral (S-81) was commissioned on November, 30, 2023, while the second sub, Narciso Monturiol (S-82) is still being built. These two subs did not originally have the AIP system, but will be installed during their overhauls.
The s-80 class submarines are the only 3,000 tonne submarines in the world that have this system. This system and submarine designs are moving forward to creating an undetectable submarine in the future. This allows many more companies to experiment and work on submarines.
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- https://thedefensepost.com/2024/11/05/navatia-aip-system-sub/
- https://www.asdnews.com/news/defense/2024/10/31/navantia-begins-embark-aip-equipment-s83-submarine
- https://interestingengineering.com/military/spain-navy-air-independent-propulsion-submarine
- https://euro-sd.com/2024/10/major-news/41233/first-s-80-aip-fit-initiated/
- https://www.revistaejercitos.com/en/defense-industry-a/Navantia-begins-to-load-AIP-equipment-onto-the-S-83-submarine/
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