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Taiwan's First Domestic Submarine: Exploring Capabilities
Taiwan's First Domestic Submarine: Exploring Capabilities
Sputnik International
Sunday will see Taiwan undergo the harbor acceptance test of its first domestically made submarine, which is due to enter service next year. What are the vessel’ characteristics? Check Sputnik to find out.
2023-10-01T13:24+0000
2023-10-01T13:24+0000
2023-10-01T15:31+0000
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Launching CeremonyTaiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a keynote speech as she presided over the launch of the advanced Hai Kun (SS-711) diesel-electric submarine on Thursday. The sub is slated to go through a slew of tests before Taiwan's Navy receives the vessel in 2024.Speaking at the ceremony in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, Tsai said that "History will remember this day forever," stressing that “a domestically-produced submarine was considered a mission impossible [for Taiwan] in the past.”Cheng Wen-lon, chief executive of the Taiwanese shipbuilding corporation CSBC, told reporters that “the new vessel is fully designed by us and its performance will be better than that of its peers currently on active duty,” an apparent nod to the Navy moth-balled Hai Shih class submarines.The CSBC CEO added that after the launch ceremony, the company “will undergo the so-called HAT [harbor acceptance test] and SAT [sea acceptance test] before its commission to the Taiwanese military for further combat tests and strength-building preparation."Name-Related Allusions and Price TagDuring the launch ceremony, the $1.54 billion submarine was officially named Hai Kun after a mythological giant fish capable of turning into a bird. The fish was singled out in the ancient text Zhuangzi, written by Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou during the so-called Warring States period around the fourth century BC.The vessel's English-language name is "Narwhal," which is related to a single-tusked whale that is mentioned by a US scientific magazine as one of the weirdest creatures in the world.Not One and Only It’s worth noting that a second submarine of the same class is currently under construction and is expected to become part of the Taiwanese Navy in 2027.Right now, Tawain's Naval Forces has two Dutch-made boats built back in the 1980s and two more World War II-era US submarines, which are only used for training.Design and ArmamentLocal media was mainly tight-lipped about the Hai Kun’s characteristics, just claiming that the 260-foot-long (79-meter-long) sub has a displacement of between 2,460 and 2,950 tons. Some likened the new submarine’s design to that of the Hai Lung (Sea Dragon) class vessels, the subs with streamlined hulls that are currently in service at the Taiwanese Navy.The Hai Kun is said to have been fitted with some form of air-independent propulsion (AIP) system to help the boat significantly increase the time it can stay submerged to keep an enemy from tracking it.As for the vessel’s armament, Admiral Huang Shu-kuang, an adviser to Taiwan's National Security Council, was cited by a US media outlet as saying that the Hai Kun is equipped with a combat system developed by the American aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin.According to him, the new submarine can carry the MK-48 Mod 6 AT heavy torpedoes, which are now in service in the US Navy and which is capable of moving at the speed of 55 knots (62 miles, or 101 kilometers) per hour.“Its ability to find the target and then track the target to the end is very powerful. It is a very important system even in the United States," the ex-Pentagon official emphasized.New Sub's Goal Most observers agree that the new submarines could significantly add to Taiwan's strategy of defenses, helping the island to repulse any hypothetical Chinese attack.They recalled that Taiwan has long pursued an asymmetric warfare strategy aimed at creating more maneuverable defense forces that can counter larger and more well-resourced adversaries, such as China, which currently has more than 60 boats, including nuclear attack submarines, as it continues to build more.In particular, he added, these new Taiwanese vessels could help guard the various straits and channels connecting the so-called "first island chain" - a group of islands that includes Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan, which are seen as a possible theater of operations in any potential conflict involving China.Beijing, which considers Taiwan an essential part of China, has repeatedly touted its own peaceful plan for reunification with the island that includes a “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement.
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taiwan's first domestically made submarine, new taiwanese submarine's armament, launching ceremony to unveil hai kun submarine, tests of hai kun submarine
taiwan's first domestically made submarine, new taiwanese submarine's armament, launching ceremony to unveil hai kun submarine, tests of hai kun submarine
Taiwan's First Domestic Submarine: Exploring Capabilities
13:24 GMT 01.10.2023 (Updated: 15:31 GMT 01.10.2023) The island will now carry out harbor acceptance tests on its first domestically-made military submarine, which is due to enter service next year. What are the vessel’s characteristics and does Taiwanese administration plan to build more such submarines in the future? Sputnik finds out.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a keynote speech as she presided over the launch of the advanced
Hai Kun (SS-711) diesel-electric submarine on Thursday. The sub is slated to go through a slew of tests before Taiwan's Navy receives the vessel in 2024.
Speaking at the ceremony in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, Tsai said that "History will remember this day forever," stressing that “a domestically-produced submarine was considered a mission impossible [for Taiwan] in the past.”
“But today, a submarine designed and built by our countrymen is in front of you. We did it. Building a submarine is not just a goal but a concrete realization of our commitment to defending our country. Submarines are important equipment for the Taiwan Navy in developing asymmetric warfare strategies," the president noted.
Cheng Wen-lon, chief executive of the Taiwanese shipbuilding corporation CSBC, told reporters that “the new vessel is fully designed by us and its performance will be better than that of its peers currently on active duty,” an apparent nod to the Navy moth-balled Hai Shih class submarines.
22 August 2023, 06:39 GMT
The CSBC CEO added that after the launch ceremony, the company “will undergo the so-called HAT [harbor acceptance test] and SAT [sea acceptance test] before its commission to the Taiwanese military for further combat tests and strength-building preparation."
Name-Related Allusions and Price Tag
During the launch ceremony, the $1.54 billion submarine was officially named Hai Kun after a mythological giant fish capable of turning into a bird. The fish was singled out in the ancient text Zhuangzi, written by Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou during the so-called Warring States period around the fourth century BC.
The vessel's English-language name is "Narwhal," which is related to a single-tusked whale that is mentioned by a US scientific magazine as one of the weirdest creatures in the world.
It’s worth noting that a second submarine of the same class is currently under construction and is expected to become part of the Taiwanese Navy in 2027.
The Taiwanese Navy is expected to comprise a fleet of ten submarines, including eight Hai Kun class vessels and two upgraded Hai Lung class boats that were built in the Netherlands.
Right now, Tawain's Naval Forces has two Dutch-made boats built back in the 1980s and two more World War II-era US submarines, which are only used for training.
Local media was mainly tight-lipped about the Hai Kun’s characteristics, just claiming that the 260-foot-long (79-meter-long) sub has a displacement of between 2,460 and 2,950 tons. Some likened the new submarine’s design to that of the Hai Lung (Sea Dragon) class vessels, the subs with streamlined hulls that are currently in service at the Taiwanese Navy.
The Hai Kun is said to have been fitted with some form of air-independent propulsion (AIP) system to help the boat significantly increase the time it can stay submerged to keep an enemy from tracking it.
As for the vessel’s armament, Admiral Huang Shu-kuang, an adviser to Taiwan's National Security Council, was cited by a US media outlet as saying that the Hai Kun is equipped with a combat system developed by the American aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin.
According to him, the new submarine can carry the MK-48 Mod 6 AT heavy torpedoes, which are now in service in the US Navy and which is capable of moving at the speed of 55 knots (62 miles, or 101 kilometers) per hour.
Huang was echoed by former US Department of Defense official Tony Hu, who told the American news outlet that the MK-48 is “a heavy torpedo” with a “very large” warhead that “can cause a lot of damage.”
“Its ability to find the target and then track the target to the end is very powerful. It is a very important system even in the United States," the ex-Pentagon official emphasized.
Most observers agree that the new submarines could significantly add to Taiwan's strategy of defenses, helping the island to repulse any hypothetical Chinese attack.
They recalled that Taiwan has long pursued an asymmetric warfare strategy aimed at creating more maneuverable defense forces that can counter larger and more well-resourced adversaries, such as China, which currently has more than 60 boats, including nuclear attack submarines, as it continues to build more.
William Chung, a military analyst at the Institute of National Defense and Security Studies in Taiwan, told a UK broadcaster that the Hai Kun submarines could help Taiwan's relatively small navy get the better of China's powerful naval forces by waging "guerrilla warfare through stealth, lethality and element of surprise."
In particular, he added, these new Taiwanese vessels could help guard the various straits and channels connecting the so-called "first island chain" - a group of islands that includes Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan, which are seen as a possible theater of operations in any potential conflict involving China.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan
an essential part of China, has repeatedly touted its own peaceful plan for reunification with the island that includes a “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement.
