With the induction of several new state-of-the-art warship classes in recent years, Navantia is continuing to showcase its global leadership in a variety of naval shipbuilding technologies. This brings Spain’s premier shipbuilder to the small club of global actors that are able to perform in all key areas of naval ship design, construction, integration, verification, testing and introduction – all of which faciliated in a full-scale digital environment.
COEX Naval Systems is Navantia’s Centre of Excellence specialising in the development and integration of advanced technological solutions applied to naval defence. Located at the Bay of Cadiz in southwestern Spain and with more than 6,000 square metres of specialised facilities, COEX Naval Systems works in key areas such as cybersecurity, articial intelligence (AI), unmanned platforms, interoperability and tactical clouds. Now, Navantia is in a process of building a full-fledged naval combat cloud, transforming the shipbuilder as leading actor in a new era of maritime systems.
COEX Naval Systems has held the first National Conference on the Naval Combat Cloud, bringing together Navantia’s principal customer, the Spanish Navy (Armada), as well as companies, universities and research centres. The event focused on strengthening collaboration to develop next-generation systems that address current and future operational challenges of the Armed Forces.
The conference emphasised that the Naval Combat Cloud is not just a technological challenge but a paradigm shift, with input from the Defence Staff and other key stakeholders.
The Naval Combat Cloud represents a strategic transformation for the Armada, redefining detection, situational awareness, decision-making and naval operations. This cloud will be the operational environment for the new generation of the Spanish Navy’s SCOMBA combat system (Sistema de Combate de los Buques de la Armada) also developed by Navantia. The combat system is fitted to the majority of Spanish warship classes since about 2010, demonstrating excellent capabilities.
During the conference, discussions covered futures challenges and capacities, in addition to new communications systems, AI, unmanned platforms and cybersecurity, thus highlighting the urgent need for technological sovereignty. The event marked a significant milestone toward a sovereign, interoperable and resilient naval combat cloud, reaffirming Navantia’s commitment to innovation and the future of naval defense.
Stefan Nitschke / Source: Navantia