F-110 Flight II Could Boost Spain’s Air Defence with 48 VLS Cells

 

The Spanish Navy is studying a more heavily armed version of its future F-110 class frigate, with plans for a Flight II variant equipped with up to 48 vertical launch cells.

This would be a major step up from the 16 cells planned for the current ships and would significantly strengthen their air defence role.

The increase would likely come from additional Mk 41 Vertical Launch System modules, potentially requiring minor structural changes. More importantly, it would allow a much larger and more flexible missile load.

A typical configuration could include quad-packed RIM-162 ESSM for medium-range defence and SM-2 Standard Missile for longer-range engagements. This combination would give the ship a real area air defence capability, something the baseline design lacks.

With 48 cells, the F-110 would be far better suited to deal with saturation attacks, cruise missiles and multiple simultaneous threats. It would also reduce reliance on AEGIS ships like the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate for fleet protection.

The move reflects a clear shift. What was designed as an anti-submarine frigate could evolve into a more balanced combatant with credible air defence capability.

No final decision has been announced, but the direction is clear: more missiles, more flexibility and a stronger role in high-intensity scenarios.

Spain Approves €30M for Naval Defense and a Potential Domestic Shield Against Drones and Rockets

The Spanish Council of Ministers has just greenlit a major strategic move to protect its fleet. With a budget of €29.6 million, the government has authorized a framework agreement to supply three advanced ship defense systems over the next six years.

The official reference is brief, but the message is clear: the Spanish Navy (Armada) is prioritizing C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System) and point-defense capabilities to face the "cheap but deadly" threats seen in recent conflicts like the Red Sea.

Focus on National Sovereignty

Everything points towards a "National Product" approach. The Spanish Ministry of Defense has been consistently supporting the domestic industry to ensure technological independence. This framework agreement is likely designed to integrate Spanish-made solutions into the fleet's defensive layers.

Potential National Solutions Under Review

While the specific models have not been officially confirmed, the Spanish defense industry offers several high-tier systems that align with the Navy's requirements:

• Escribano M&E (Sentinel Series): This company is a key player in remote-controlled weapon stations (RWS). Their Sentinel 30 is already a known quantity for the Navy, providing "hard-kill" capabilities to neutralize drones and surface threats using advanced optronics and ballistic calculation.

• Indra (Crow System): As a leader in electronic warfare, Indra’s Crow platform is often cited in C-UAS discussions. It offers a comprehensive "soft-kill" approach, using high-precision radars and jamming technology to disrupt drone signals before they reach their target.

• TRC & Escribano (CERVUS/Guardian): Other domestic developments, such as the CERVUS platform, have already demonstrated effective command-and-control capabilities in countering unmanned aerial threats during military trials, making them strong candidates for naval adaptation.

Why This Investment Matters

The modern naval battlefield has changed. The Armada needs to protect high-value assets, such as the LHD Juan Carlos I or the F-100 frigates, against asymmetric threats. This investment ensures that Spanish vessels are equipped with smart, cost-effective technology to handle "swarm" attacks—where traditional missiles might be over-dimensioned or too expensive to use.

This framework agreement represents a strategic step for the Spanish defense sector, reinforcing the role of local engineering in protecting the nation's interests at sea.

Spain’s Forgotten Aircraft Carrier: The SAC-220 and the Return of Conventional Carrier Ambitions

 

As Spain quietly re-evaluates the possibility of building a future conventional aircraft carrier, a largely forgotten chapter of national naval history suddenly becomes highly relevant. In the mid-1990s, Spanish shipbuilder Bazán (later IZAR, today Navantia) developed a fully-fledged CATOBAR aircraft carrier design known as SAC-220, a project that was not only technologically mature but actively offered on the international export market.

Three decades later, as Spain once again considers returning to fixed-wing naval aviation beyond the Harrier era, SAC-220 stands as a striking reminder that Spain once seriously pursued indigenous aircraft carrier design — and nearly exported it worldwide.

The SAC-220: Spain’s Ambition to Enter the Carrier Market

The SAC-220 was conceived during the 1990s as a medium-sized conventional aircraft carrier, intended to fill the niche between light STOVL carriers and large fleet carriers. The concept targeted navies seeking affordable access to fixed-wing carrier aviation without the extreme financial and industrial burden of supercarriers.

Technically, SAC-220 represented a mature and coherent design. It featured a CATOBAR configuration, enabling the operation of conventional fixed-wing aircraft using catapults and arresting gear — a capability Spain itself never operated operationally.

Key Technical Characteristics:

• Length: 241.8 m
• Beam: 29.5 m
• Full-load displacement: ~27,000 tons
• Propulsion: CODAG/COGAG
• Power output: 76,000–88,500 hp
• Max speed: 25.5–26.5 knots
• Range: 7,500 nautical miles at 15 knots
• Air group: ~20 fixed-wing aircraft + 4 ASW helicopters
• Sea state: Flight ops up to Sea State 5

Bazán also developed a smaller derivative version — SAC-200, displacing roughly 24,000 tons, aimed at even more cost-sensitive customers.

Designed for Export: Argentina, Brazil, India and China

Rather than serving Spanish requirements, SAC-220 was conceived primarily as an export product. Spain already operated the STOVL carrier Príncipe de Asturias, making a CATOBAR design unnecessary domestically. Instead, Bazán targeted countries seeking low-cost carrier capability.

Argentina

The original conceptual customer was the Argentine Navy, which sought a replacement for the aging ARA 25 de Mayo. SAC-220 would have restored Argentina’s fixed-wing naval aviation capability following the Falklands War. However, Argentina’s severe economic crisis during the 1990s rendered such a purchase impossible.

Brazil

Brazil also evaluated the design as a replacement for Minas Gerais, but ultimately opted for the ex-French carrier Foch (São Paulo) in 2000, acquiring it at a fraction of the cost despite its limited remaining service life.

India

India emerged as a potential industrial partner, with discussions linked to the modernization of Cochin Shipyard. While SAC-220 was examined, New Delhi eventually turned toward Russian carrier solutions and later indigenous designs.

China

Perhaps most intriguingly, China was offered SAC-220 during a period when the PLAN was intensively studying aircraft carrier operations. Despite China’s later massive carrier program, the design was reportedly declined — likely due to financial constraints, technical uncertainty, and Beijing’s preference for absorbing foreign technology through study rather than direct acquisition.

Technical Strengths and Design Limitations

SAC-220 aimed to provide credible conventional carrier aviation within a compact hull, but inevitably faced structural compromises.

Analysts and forum specialists highlighted:

• A relatively narrow beam, limiting deck space
• Single or dual catapult layouts with constrained recovery zones
• Tight margins for high-performance fighters

Despite this, SAC-220 would have been fully capable of operating aircraft such as the F-18 Hornet, A-4 Skyhawk, Super Étendard, MiG-29K, and even E-2 Hawkeye-type AEW platforms, something far beyond the reach of STOVL carriers.

Operationally, it was intended for sea control, limited power projection, and regional deterrence, rather than global strike operations.

Pocket Carrier Logic: Strategic Sense in Small Fleets

SAC-220 belonged to the concept of “pocket carriers” — vessels below 30,000 tons designed to deliver strategic relevance at manageable cost.

Lifecycle cost estimates at the time placed SAC-220 in the $350–400 million range, dramatically lower than contemporary fleet carriers. Even adjusted for inflation, such platforms remain financially accessible compared to full-size carriers.

For medium naval powers, SAC-220 offered:

• Fixed-wing strike capability
• Organic air defence
• ASW and maritime surveillance
• Strategic autonomy

All without the budgetary shock of supercarriers.

Why SAC-220 Failed — And Why It Matters Today

Despite aggressive marketing, no contracts were secured. Economic crises in Argentina and Brazil, strategic hesitation in India, and long-term planning cycles in China sealed the project’s fate.

Spain itself focused instead on the Buque de Proyección Estratégica (BPE) concept, which later became Juan Carlos I, prioritizing amphibious assault and helicopter operations over fixed-wing aviation.

Yet today, Spain once again faces a strategic inflection point:

• Harrier retirement approaching
• F-35B acquisition abandoned
• Increasing expeditionary commitments
• NATO power projection demands
• Rising Mediterranean and Atlantic security pressure

In this context, Spain’s historical experience designing SAC-220 suddenly gains new relevance.

SAC-220 and the Modern Spanish Carrier Debate

Spain is now actively studying the construction of a future conventional aircraft carrier, likely larger than Juan Carlos I and capable of operating fixed-wing aircraft.

Unlike the 1990s, today Spain benefits from:

• A mature shipbuilding industry (Navantia)
• Extensive LHD & carrier design experience
• Deep NATO interoperability
• Industrial partnerships, notably with Turkey and HÜRJET

The SAC-220 design philosophy — compact, efficient, affordable — fits remarkably well with modern Spanish strategic logic.

Rather than seeking a supercarrier, Spain appears more inclined toward a medium-sized conventional carrier, optimized for:

• Mediterranean operations
• NATO task groups
• Maritime security
• Limited expeditionary strike

The SAC-220 was far more than an unrealized drawing-board project. It represented a serious, credible attempt by Spain to enter the elite club of aircraft carrier designers.

Today, as Spain reopens the carrier debate, SAC-220 provides both technical legacy and strategic inspiration.

A future Spanish conventional carrier may not resemble SAC-220 in form, but its design philosophy — efficiency, affordability, and strategic autonomy — remains strikingly relevant.

In many ways, Spain’s future carrier may finally realize a vision first sketched more than 30 years ago.

Extreme Heat Aboard Spanish Flagship Juan Carlos I, as AC Failure Pushes Crew to Sleep on Deck Amid NATO Operations

Spain’s flagship amphibious assault ship, the Juan Carlos I, is reportedly experiencing a critical failure in its air conditioning systems. Broken air conditioning systems have left interior temperatures reaching up to 40 °C inside the 231 m, 26,800‑ton vessel.

The issue, which has persisted for several days, has left interior spaces stiflingly hot—so much so that some sailors have resorted to sleeping on the open flight deck to escape the suffocating conditions below. The incident highlights ongoing challenges in maintaining comfort aboard aging naval platforms, even during high-readiness deployments.

The Spanish Navy's LHD Juan Carlos I (L61), pride of the Armada Española and cornerstone of Spain’s naval aviation and amphibious operations, is currently battling an unexpected but serious technical problem—its onboard air conditioning and ventilation systems (HVAC) have malfunctioned.

Sources close to the vessel report that the ship's internal temperature has become unbearable, particularly in living quarters and engineering spaces. This has led some members of the crew to sleep on the ship’s flight deck under the open sky to find relief from the suffocating heat inside.

An internal notice authorized crew to set up sleeping mats on deck (“no mattresses or pillows from the ship”) between 21:00‑07:00—avoiding obstruction near aircraft operating zones  .

The ship has been deployed in the Mediterranean for nearly a month as part of NATO's Expeditionary Combat Group Dédalo, with the malfunction persisting for over a week.

Delay in Repairs

Although the Juan Carlos I is scheduled for a six-month dry-dock and propulsion system refit starting July 2025, leadership decided to continue operations without returning to port for AC repairs.

Plans are underway for a major overhaul at Navantia’s Cádiz yard, including propulsion issues plaguing the Siemens PODs (which have caused past maneuvering disruptions)  . The ship is expected to enter dry dock in July 2025 for six months to repair both propulsion and auxiliary systems—including the vital refrigerated climate control systems.

While the Juan Carlos I remains fully operational, the air conditioning failure underlines persistent fleet maintenance challenges. Operating in high-heat environments without climate control raises crew welfare and mission-readiness concerns. The scheduled dry-dock period offers a crucial opportunity to rectify the issues—returning the flagship to full operational and human-tolerant conditions.

🇪🇸 Spain Plans Its First Conventional Aircraft Carrier in Historic Naval Leap

Spain commissions a feasibility study for its first conventional aircraft carrier, shifting from STOVL-only platforms and signaling a major evolution in naval air power.

Spain Prepares for Its First Conventional Aircraft Carrier.

In a historic shift for its naval strategy, Spain is preparing to build its first conventional aircraft carrier, a development that would significantly upgrade its maritime airpower capabilities. The Spanish Navy (Armada Española) has formally commissioned state-owned shipbuilder Navantia to conduct a feasibility study for what could become the largest warship in Spain’s history—surpassing the current LHD Juan Carlos I.

This initiative marks a clear evolution from the Navy’s original plan to operate up to three STOVL-capable amphibious assault ships to now embracing a mixed fleet that includes one conventional fixed-wing aircraft carrier. The envisioned carrier could resemble the French Charles de Gaulle, weighing around 40,000 tons and measuring over 260 meters in length.

Currently, the Juan Carlos I supports STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) aircraft such as the AV-8B Harrier II, now reaching the end of their service life. The only modern replacement available for such aircraft is the F-35B by Lockheed Martin, which limits operational flexibility and market competition.

A conventional aircraft carrier, using catapults and arrestor wires, would expand Spain’s fighter options to include the F-35C, F/A-18F Super Hornet, and Rafale M, among others. These aircraft offer longer range, heavier payloads, and more advanced sensors compared to STOVL types.

The move also aligns Spain with NATO partners like France and the U.S., both operating advanced carrier-borne aircraft. Furthermore, it opens the door to future integration of sixth-generation jets from the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, being jointly developed by France, Germany, and Spain.

Navantia's study will explore key systems including:

- Catapult-assisted take-off and arrested recovery (CATOBAR) systems

- Aircraft support for 25–30 fixed-wing manned fighter jets

- Integration of Class 3 UAVs with capabilities for early warning

Pending government approval, the first steel cut could take place by 2035, with the ship entering service around 2040. When complete, the new carrier will be larger and more capable than the Juan Carlos I (26,000 tons, 231 meters), marking a leap forward in Spanish naval aviation.

Spain’s future carrier air wing may include a mix of:

- Carrier-capable fighter jets (F-35C, Rafale M, or F/A-18F)

- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance and ASW

- Future FCAS naval variants (anticipated post-2040)

This development ensures that Spain will always have two naval aviation platforms operational, even when one is undergoing extended maintenance addressing a crucial limitation faced by navies operating a single carrier-type vessel.

It also reflects a broader trend across Europe: modernization of naval forces and an increased focus on blue-water capabilities. With rising geopolitical tensions and renewed interest in power projection, Spain is positioning itself as a stronger and more autonomous player within both NATO and the EU.

The construction of a conventional aircraft carrier not only reflects Spain’s technological ambition and industrial capacity, but it also enhances the country's strategic relevance in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters. This evolution is emblematic of a new chapter for the Spanish Navy and for European naval power as a whole.