The European Commission has announced the results of the research and development projects corresponding to the European Defence Fund (EDF) 2022, three of them with Navantia’s participation: SWAT-SHOAL, E-NACSOS and EUROGUARD. In this way, the company strengthens its position in the main areas of technological development such as collaborative naval operations, autonomous navigation and combined missions with swarms of underwater and surface drones.
The SWAT-SHOAL project is led by Navantia and involves 20 organizations from 11 countries, including the Spanish companies SENER, SAES and GMV. It develops the concept of a System of Systems that integrates different types of manned and unmanned vehicles in a swarm to achieve greater efficiency in underwater missions, such as surveillance, reconnaissance, mine warfare, collaborative engagements or support for amphibious operations. Navantia thus strengthens its position as an integrator of swarms of unmanned vehicles in Command and Control Systems, both submarine and surface, increasing interoperability in the naval domain.
On the other hand, the objective of the E-NACSOS project is to define the European standard for real-time sensor information exchange and fusion between Combat Systems, which will strengthen collaborative surveillance in European naval forces and increase the effectiveness of naval surface and anti-aircraft operations. The scope includes the implementation of national demonstrators of the participating countries, including both simulated tests and sea trials with real units. The programme is led by the French company Naval Group and, in addition to Navantia, Indra and the University of Vigo are also participating from Spain.
The EUROGUARD project, led by the Estonian company Baltic Workboats, will combine cutting-edge and innovative technologies to develop and build the prototype of a medium-sized, versatile and pioneering semi-autonomous surface naval vessel. Operational tests of the prototype will be carried out in a real environment, including the shore control station to be developed by Navantia, from which all the ship's systems will be monitored and controlled. These developments may be scalable to other future types of autonomous and semi-autonomous European vessels.
These three projects, which will begin to be executed as of December 2023, represent a global amount of 221 M€ and will contribute to Navantia’s strategic position at the technological forefront of defence companies in Europe.
Moreover, Navantia continues its line of collaboration with the main European Defence companies, a strategy that has already received the support of EDF in projects such as the design and construction of the European Corvette (EPC), the development of the digital platform for the next generation of European combat ships (EDINAF), the European Multi-domain Combat Cloud (EDOCC), the future hypersonic missile defence system (HYDEF), the structural monitoring of naval platforms in combat (dTHOR), the inertial navigation and quantum gravimeter system (Q-SiNG), the autonomous off-shore maritime surveillance platforms (USSPs) or the prospection of technologies for future naval platforms (SEA DEFENCE).
With a history of more than 300 years linked to the construction of ships for the Navy, Navantia is a state-owned and strategic technology company for the defense of Spain. Its areas of specialization range from shipbuilding (surface and submarine), to the design and integration of systems with a high technological content and life cycle support and high value-added services.
Additionally, with its brand Navantia Seanergies, it is a global supplier for the development of offshore wind energy and other green energies such as hydrogen. Navantia employs nearly 4,000 people directly in Spain, mainly at its offices in Ferrol and Fene (A Coruña), Puerto, Real, San Fernando, Cádiz and Rota (Cádiz), Cartagena (Murcia Region) and Madrid.
Committed to building a safe and sustainable future through technological excellence and industrial collaboration, Navantia has contracts with Governments and companies around the world and ties with universities and technological and academic centers. It contributes to sustainability and innovation through its daily commitment to people and the planet, with responsible practices from the point of view of labour, the environment and economic and technological development that are viable regionally, nationally and internationally. It is owned 100% by the Sociedad Española de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), attached to the Ministry of Finance and Public Function of Spain).
