The Spanish Navy’s submarine ‘Mistral’ has been refloated after 17 months of repair work. In the next three months, the remaining outfitting will be undertaken on board, before she begins sea trials scheduled for July. That is when the final work on fine-tuning the vessel will be completed.
During this time, nearly 30 subsidiary companies have clocked-up 440,000 hours to restore the submarine to a fully operational status. It is the fourth time the ship is undergoing repair since its launching in 1982.
The Spanish submarine ‘Mistral’, third of a series of four Agosta-class units, was launched on November 14, 1983 and was delivered to the Spanish Navy on June 5, 1985.
The submarine is 68 meters long, has 1750 tons displacement and a staff of 66 sailors. The boat has modern detection equipment and weapons systems, making it a valuable combat unit.
The Mistral submarine has participated in various exercises and operations, naval integrated groups, and has also visited many ports in Europe and Africa.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, April 17, 2013; Image: Spanish Navy