The Spanish Navy’s command has published a video featuring scenes of one of their two operational diesel-electric submarines, either the S-71 Galerna or the S-74 Tramontana, both of which have served for over 40 years. The video shows the submarine tracking the Juan Carlos I, a vessel classified as a universal landing ship but functioning more like a light aircraft carrier, capable of launching helicopters and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft from its flight deck, Infodefensa reports.
The Spanish Juan Carlos I ship bears a visual resemblance to the Turkish TСG Anadolu carrier. However, there is nothing surprising about this since the Turkish vessel was built based on a Spanish project, which, in turn, was used for the construction of the Juan Carlos I light aircraft carrier, which is also classified locally as a strategic power projection ship.
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The Juan Carlos I carrier was commissioned into the fleet in 2010. This ship has the following characteristics:
- Displacement – 27,000 tons;
- Length, width and height of the hull – 230 meters, 32 meters, and 27 meters;
- Speed and range – 21 knots per hour, 9,000 miles (at a speed of 15 knots per hour);
- Crew and complement – 243 personnel + 172 personnel from the aviation group;
- Aviation group – 18 deck helicopters or 10 AV-8B Harrier vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
In turn, the S-71 Galerna and S-74 Tramontana submarines belong to the Agosta project and were commissioned into the Navy in 1983 and 1985. They have the following characteristics:
- Displacement – 1,524 tons on the surface, 1,788 tons submerged;
- Length and width of the hull – 67 meters and 6 meters;
- Speed and range – up to 12 knots on the surface, up to 20.5 knots submerged, 8,500 miles;
- Diving depth – up to 300 meters;
- Crew – 41 personnel, including 5 officers;
- Armament – 4 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, including the capability to launch Exocet anti-ship missiles.
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