Navantia starts work on reinforced cyber-security system for Spanish Navy's S-80 subs

Navantia has started work with Telefónica Tech to develop a reinforced cyber-security system for the S-80-class submarines it is building for the Spanish Navy.

It will be incorporated in the final phase of construction and offers a high level of commonality with the systems to be installed in the Spanish Navy's upcoming F-110 frigates, the state-owned shipbuilder said on 30 November.

According to Navantia it will handle the cyber-defence “wardrobes” for each of the four submarines, along with the engineering of the systems and integration of the main systems.

Navantia will also provide the land-based test site for the development and qualification of the system.

As well as protecting against cyber attacks, the new system will provide real-time monitoring of the combat, control, and advanced communications systems, alerting of any possible threat.

Another feature will be its advanced registry system that will permit forensic analysis, enabling the study of incidents to identify their sources, the level of threat, and the mechanism used for the intrusion to enable the ship to take corrective action.

Construction of the four S-80 submarines is already under way at Navantia's Cartagena yard in Murcia in southeast Spain, with the first of the vessels due to be operative by early 2023.

Work on the first of the five F-110 frigates is due to start at its El Ferrol complex in the northwestern region of Galicia in the second quarter of 2022.