The Spanish Navy’s four new S-80 submarines will cost EUR1.5 billion (approx. 1.85 b) more than it was initially expected, IHS Janes reported on Wednesday citing defense ministry sources.
This latest estimate will be bring the total cost of the four air-independent propulsion submarines to EUR3.68 billion, or EUR920 million per boat.
Initial cost estimates projected a price of around EUR1,75b for the design and construction, but by 2010 this had increased to EUR2,2b (US$700m per boat).
The latest cost increase likely reflects the costs of redesigning the submarines’ pressure hulls after it was discovered that the boats would be 70 tones too heavy to be able to float. The four submarines were at various stages of construction when this was discovered in 2013.
While the critical design review was approved by Spain in 2016, the unexpected complications have pushed the delivery of the first boat in the class to after 2021.
Spain is procuring S-80 submarines as a replacement for the ageing S-70 (Agosta-class) submarines which have been in service since the 1980s.
The four boats will be named Isaac Peral (S-81), Narciso Monturiol (S-82), Cosme García (S-83) and Mateo García de los Reyes (S-84), in honor of Spanish Navy submarine pioneers.