Last Wednesday, September 28, the Initial Design Review (IPDR) of the Underwater Intervention Vessel (BAM-IS) that Navantia will build for the Navy was approved.
The decision was made at the end of the work day held at the Navantia shipyard in Puerto Real, where the ship will be built. The executive session was chaired by the Deputy Director General for Programs of the DGAM, Division General Antonio Gutiérrez Sevilla; together with the Head of Naval Systems, Rear Admiral Cristóbal González-Aller; the Director of Naval Engineering and Construction (ADIC), Vice Admiral Manuel Antonio Martínez Ruiz; the Head of the Logistics Division of the EMA, Rear Admiral Rubén Rodríguez Peña; the head of the DGAM program, CN Angel Arrazola, and the 2nd Head of the Cadiz Arsenal, Rear Admiral Juan Antonio Cornago Diufaín. On behalf of Navantia, the Director of Naval Construction, Agustín Álvarez Blanco; the director of the Corvette and BAM Business Unit, Jose Antonio Rodriguez Poch; the director of Navantia Systems, Cristina Abad; and the Director of Management and Operational Monitoring of Shipbuilding, Alberto Cervantes. Along with them were Ignacio Herruzo, head of the BAM-IS program at Navantia; and the director of Engineering in Bahía de Cádiz, Camino Sánchez.
The main objective of this review was to pass a first engineering phase of consolidation of the conceptual design, with the approval of the ship’s configuration and critical systems. This IPDR allows to have an Initial Baseline, necessary to be able to start the functional design of the ship carrying out a global verification and evaluation of the state of its design.
This milestone culminates a process of technical studies that has been underway since the signing of the execution order, in November 2021, by virtue of which Navantia has delivered a documentary package focused on fundamental aspects of the ship’s design due to the features and the innovative character of the boat. In this sense, the ship will stand out technologically not only for incorporating an innovative direct current propulsion system, but also for incorporating state-of-the-art underwater intervention and positioning systems on board, which will allow the ship to execute the mission profiles required for the operation of this ship.
The process has required a great effort on the part of Navantia to complete this milestone, which has been very demanding due to the number of engineering studies that had to be carried out. The documentation has been reviewed by the different Defense actors involved in the program, both from the Navy and the General Directorate of Armament and Material (DGAM). At the meeting held on the 28th, it was confirmed that the configuration satisfies the established requirements.
The participants in the meeting outlined the effort made, the good coordination and teamwork to achieve the best design solution for the BAM-IS.
The approval and passing of this technical milestone is essential for the adequate progress of the project and allows the start of the functional design of the ship, which will culminate with the preliminary design review (PDR).
