Date Posted: 12-Jan-2009
Jane's Navy International
Argentina ponders a new lease of life for Salta-class submarine
Juan Manuel Barragán
The Argentine Navy has initiated a feasibility study on the hull of the 35-year old Salta-class (Type 209/1200) submarine San Luis (S 32) to assess its suitability for reactivation.
Announcing the move, Admiral Jorge Godoy, the Chief of Naval General Staff, said the service was evaluating the systems and budget required to update the decommissioned boat.
Acid leaks from its batteries have necessitated checks on the pressure hull. The assessment is being completed at the Alte Segundo Storni Shipyard (formerly the Domecq Garcia yard), where San Luis has languished in a state of preservation for over a decade.
San Luis and its 1,248-ton sister-ship ARA Salta were ordered from Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel, Germany in 1968 and commissioned in 1974. Salta completed a mid-life upgrade in 1994-95 and remains in service. San Luis entered refit in 1991, but the work was not completed and the boat was placed in reserve in 1996. It was decommissioned a year later and has since been cannibalised for spare parts.
During the 1982 Malvinas Islands (Malvinas) conflict between Argentina and the UK, San Luis came close to firing a torpedo at the Royal Navy (RN) aircraft carrier HMS Hermes , and remained undetected by the RN task force.
Argentina also operates two Santa Cruz-class (TR 1700) submarines built in the early 1980s by Thyssen Nordseewerke. First-of-class Santa Cruz (S 41) was due to participate in the Exponaval conference in Valparaiso, Chile, in 2008 but abandoned the trip after a hydraulic system became contaminated with sea water.
ANALYSIS
Bringing the San Luis up to standard for re-introduction to the fleet will be costly, although the fact that it has been preserved for 12 years - and not subjected to the stresses and strains of operational service - means that it should be cheaper than procuring a new-build boat.
Significant hull and machinery work will be required during a deep refit period and a complete overhaul of all systems and installation of new electronic systems is essential.
If a decision is made to return the boat to service, it is unclear whether the Argentine Navy will opt for a refit or a full modernisation. The latter will require some assistance from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (owner of Howaldtswerke).
Neighbouring Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, have all modernised and kept in service Type 209 model submarines of a similar age, providing these South American navies with an important subsurface capability.
San Luis has lain dormant for over a decade, but now the Argentine Navy is investigating
whether to reactivate the 35-year old submarine. (Juan Manuel Barragán)