Global Courant
Taiwan, a self-governing island in Asia, is not only known for its dominance in the global semiconductor sector, but can now also call itself a submarine maker after unveiling its first underwater vessel on Thursday.
The submarine, named “Hai Kun” in Mandarin and “Narwhal” in English, was built by a team of 1,003 engineers, technicians and specialists at CSBC Corporation’s Kaohsiung Shipyard. It will be delivered to the Taiwan Navy in late 2024 and commissioned in 2025.
Hai Kun has a displacement weight of approximately 2,500 to 3,000 tons. It can carries 18 MK-48 torpedoes, each worth $10 million, for a total of $180 million, to be delivered from the US to Taiwan in 2025. up to four days.
If the legislative yuan approves more budget, Taiwan could build a new submarine that could enter service from 2027, according to the island’s National Defense Ministry. Future models will be able to carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
In comparison, South Korea launched its first domestically made KSS III submarine in September 2018, named “Dosan Ahn Chang-ho”. The 3,000-ton submarine was commissioned in 2021. About 76% of the ship’s components were produced locally. It can carry SLBMs.
Taiwan’s plan to build its first homemade submarine was implemented after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen became the island’s leader in 2016.
“History will remember this day,” Tsai said in a speech at the submarine’s launch ceremony on Thursday. “Many people used to think that building an indigenous submarine would be an impossible task. But we did it.”
Admiral Huang Shu-kuang, a senior adviser to the National Security Council who led the program, praised Tsai for her vision and planning in creating Hai Kun. He said submarine construction is now a large part of Taiwan’s defense industry, which now has its own submarine blueprint and 85 self-developed components.
The submarine also has political significance for Taiwanese politics, as it was launched ahead of the island’s presidential election in January 2024. Currently, Lai Ching-te, a presidential election candidate representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is leading the charge. in the polls, as opposition parties have so far failed to form an alliance.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen looks at a model of Hai Kun on September 28, 2023. Photo: president.gov.tw
This combination obviously makes Beijing unhappy. “The DPP authorities have stubbornly adhered to the separatist position for ‘Taiwan independence’, wasted the hard-earned money of Taiwan people, and tried to create antagonism and confrontation in the Taiwan Strait, which undermines cross-Strait peace and stability of Taiwan will only undermine.” Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Thursday.
She added that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, while the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must and will be achieved.
In the long term, Taiwan wants to make eight submarines. It could use a fleet of six indigenous submarines, following the rule of three: one on patrol, one in maintenance and one undergoing pre-deployment training.
These submarines could be used to ensure that Taiwan’s Hualien and Kaohsiung remain open against a possible Chinese blockade designed to prevent US reinforcements and resupply.
Self-sufficiency
Reuters reported in November 2021 that at least seven countries helped Taiwan build its first indigenous defense submarine. It says the United States and the United Kingdom sold submarine systems and parts to Taiwan, while the island also hired engineers, technicians and former naval officers from Australia, South Korea, India, Spain and Canada.
In late 2016, CSBC Corp was given a budget of NT$49.36 billion (US$1.54 billion) to build the indigenous submarine. It has reportedly refined the submarine’s blueprint more than 700 times over the past seven years.
Cheng Wen-Lon, Chairman of CSBC Corp, said approximately 60% of the budget was spent on purchasing foreign military equipment and materials.
“During the construction of the submarine, the most difficult task was obtaining foreign equipment and parts and applying for export permits,” Cheng said. “Our team tried to source as many local components as possible. Hai Kun has achieved a self-sufficiency rate of 40%.”
He said that submarine equipment is classified into three types: red, yellow and green zones. He said red zone items, including combat systems, digital sonar systems, diesel engines, telescopes, torpedo launchers and missile systems, cannot be purchased in Taiwan; Those from the yellow zone are difficult to obtain, but have the potential to be produced locally; and green zones can be created on the island.
He said that so far, Taiwan has been able to supply 85 green zone items by itself, including a flush toilet, an airtight door, a seawater desalination system, a hydraulic system and an air conditioning system, all of which should meet the low requirements of the submarine. – noise standard.
In addition, he said, the company has purchased more than 107 red zone items, including Lockheed Martin’s combat system and Raytheon’s sonar system.
In the first nine months of 2022, Britain approved the export of submarine parts worth ￡167 million (US$202 million) to Taiwan, Reuters reported in March this year. The amount is more than the past six years combined.
Political headwinds
The team that built Hai Kun includes 861 workers from CSBC Corp, 30 researchers from the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, 40 officers from the Navy’s 256th Submarine Squadron, 34 researchers from the Navy Development Center and seven officers from the Ministry of Defense.
The personnel in the program were all monitored by a military security department to ensure no secrets would leak, Huang said. But still, information had leaked during the tender process, he said.
He said a Taiwanese arms seller who lost a bid to a foreign company passed the tender information to Chinese diplomats, who then applied diplomatic pressure on the country where the winning bidder is located. He said one foreign supplier had withdrawn from the program because of the incident.
Last September, Wang Chih-pang, a former Taiwanese navy captain, predicted that production of the Taiwanese submarine would fail because the manufacturer could not obtain three red zone items: sound-absorbing coating and ceramics, an air-independent propulsion system (AIP), and electronic warfare countermeasures equipment.
Citing Wang’s comments, Chinese mainland media said The Taiwanese submarine would not be able to extend its underwater endurance for weeks without an AIP system.
The Taiwan Navy responded that Wang’s criticism was unfounded and that progress in building Taiwan’s first home-developed submarine was going smoothly. It was also said that Wang did not have the specialized knowledge to justify the comments.
Euan Graham, a Chinese export at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Breaking Defense said it was impressive that Taiwan successfully made its own submarine despite very strong political headwinds that apparently affected the supply of equipment.
Read: Taiwan’s homemade subs may or may not deter China
Follow Jeff Pao on Twitter at @jeffpao3
Similar:
Loading…
