Navantia

The classic image of a navy is still easy to recognize: large ships, large crews and long campaigns far from port. But the future that is being drawn around the Royal Navy adds another layer. It is no longer just a matter of building larger or more sophisticated ships, but of combining them with autonomous platforms designed to take on specific missions alongside them. That’s where it comes in Navantia UKthe British subsidiary of the Spanish Navantia, with the LASV75: a proposal for that “hybrid marine” that the United Kingdom wants to explore. The concept appeared on the scene in the Farnborough Combined Naval Eventan event for the naval sector held in the United Kingdom. According to Navantia, the LASV75 has been designed in the country and is framed in a very specific idea: combining manned warships with unmanned escorts and autonomous technologies, including drones. The announcement also comes after the British subsidiary to complete the acquisition of Harland & Wolff assetsa movement with which it has reinforced its industrial presence beyond Spain. LASV75 is, in essence, a large autonomous ship surface conceived from the beginning to operate without a crew. Naval News details that the concept is based on a 75-meter modular hull and a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, a scale that distances it from the idea of ​​a small naval drone. The company proposes it as a platform capable of accompanying conventional ships, acting as escort or serving as support in broader operations. The key is that it is not born as an adapted boat, but as a design thought from the keel to function without personnel on board. A proposal for a navy with manned ships and autonomous escorts The usefulness of the LASV75 is not understood as that of a vessel specialized in a single task, but as that of a platform that changes depending on what it carries. It will be prepared for possible missions such as surveillance, escort, electronic warfare and attack-related operations, always linked to the installed payload. This precision helps us not to oversize the concept: it is not that the ship can do everything by itself from day one, but that Navantia UK presents it as a modular base for different missions. The promise is in that capacity for reconfiguration. Thinking about an autonomous system for relatively controlled waters is not the same as thinking about a platform capable of sustain presence in tough scenarios. Simon Jones summed it up at Farnborough with the example of the North Atlantic: to have a persistent and credible capability in severe cold conditions, you think you need something of this size. The other piece of the concept is how all of those systems connect to the ship. In the mockup presented during the event, a deck prepared for different payloads, interchangeable sensors and a modular mast arrangement could be seen. Everything is designed with standard interfaces, aligned with NATO, so that the modules are as interoperable and interchangeable as possible. It is a relevant detail in an allied naval force. For a proposal like this not to remain an attractive model, something more earthly is needed: shipyards capable of manufacturing it with rhythm, precision and scale. Navantia UK is investing 157 million pounds (about 181 million euros) in its four British centers, Appledore, Arnish, Belfast and Methil, with the intention of turning them into some of the most advanced facilities in Europe. Among the improvements is an automated panel line in Belfast, designed to make large pieces of steel faster, safer and more accurately. The idea is to bring these shipyards closer to the concept Shipyard 5.0 that the company already applies in Spain. The account raised by the company is not only about technology, but also about manufacturing. If, as Navantia suggests, an unmanned vessel can be built at a significantly lower cost than a conventional one and, furthermore, be produced with a certain amount of repetition, it fits better in a navy that seeks to increase its presence without multiplying human and industrial costs. The company adds to this logic a specific objective: to reduce the usual design and construction times of large naval vessels by up to 30%. So we are looking at a ship with a date of entry into service? Not really. What Navantia UK has taught It’s a concepta proposal to enter a conversation that is already open: what navies will be like when large manned ships have to coexist with autonomous escorts, interchangeable sensors and platforms designed and built with shorter deadlines. There the company plays a double card: the accumulated experience of a Spanish group with programs such as the F-100 frigates and the S-80 submarines, and a British industrial base that wants to gain weight in the future hybrid navy. Images | Navantia In Xataka | Four years ago, Spain was left without an essential weapon for war. Airbus is rebuilding it in Seville