Pending the successful completion of the nation’s first indigenous submarine in September next year, the Executive Yuan might allocate a budget of as much NT$300 billion (US$10 billion) for seven additional submarines, a source said.
The military’s medium and long-term plans call for eight submarines to meet defense needs, so the government is keen to get started on additional submarines if the first one passes tests, the source said, adding that the legislature would need to approve the budget.
The budget for the first submarine, codenamed the Haichang Project, was NT$49.3 billion to be spent from 2019 to 2025 for expenses including manufacturing and hardware.
Photo: Hung Chen-hung, Taipei Times
The exact cost of the proposed seven submarines would depend on the exchange rate, raw material prices, procurement costs and other factors, the source said.
However, given that facilities are already in place, the additional submarines are expected to cost less than the first unit, the source said, adding that the facilities can accommodate simultaneous construction and maintenance operations for three submarines.
Six pressure hull sections and sail cover sections of the first unit are complete, and the completed sections have passed strength testing, the source said.
Several pieces of “red zone equipment,” such as the sonar system, have also been procured, and the torpedo tubes have been installed for testing, the source said.
Forty officers from the navy’s 256th Submarine Squadron are on hand at CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台船) facilities where the submarine is being built, studying the vessel’s operation, and preparing for handover and testing, the source said.
“They are assisting the engineers with the construction process, and they will be the seeds of the submarine program that will go on to train others,” the source said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) on Tuesday said that the production of additional submarines would be easier, but added that the procurement of components from overseas would depend on foreign authorities.
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