España y las capacidades submarinas de los países del entorno mediterráneo

Abstract

SPAIN AND THE SUBMARINE CAPABILITIES OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN REGIONSubmarines constitute a strategic weapons system and help any country that possesses them to ensure essential maritime communication routes for their fleets, both merchant and military, as well as helping to project naval power on land and acquire intelligence necessary in the area of​operations at all times and discreetly. In the Mediterranean, eight countries have submarines in their fleets, in addition to sharing its waters with non-coastal powers that maintain a quasi-permanent presence. Their relevance is evident in the desire of those who own them to modernize and increase their units and to acquire that capacity for those who do not yet have it. Spain, with the S-80+, will increase its submarine action capacity, taking into account the technological leap that the new series represents, although it will require a greater number of the planned units if it intends to maintain an active presence at all times on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.