Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), who heads the Indigenous Defense Submarine Program, and Cheng Wen-lon (鄭文隆), chairman of shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船), are expected to be on board during the Hai Kun submarine’s sea acceptance test this month.
Taiwan received the first shipment of long-awaited mast sensor components from the US, boosting hopes that the submarine could undergo its sea acceptance test on schedule, a defense official said yesterday.
Shipments of the L3Harris Photonics Mast parts were four months behind schedule, sparking worries that the prototype diesel-electric sub would not be ready for the test, they said.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
The component Taiwan received last week was either the optical periscope or electronic periscope that together make up the mast, they said, adding that the other half of the system is expected next week.
This means the Hai Kun could be fitted with the mast and battery systems in time to undertake the crucial test later this month as planned, they said.
The sea acceptance test consists of 31 capability trials divided into four main categories, which are surface navigation, shallow water navigation, deep water navigation and combat system operations.
To pass the acceptance test, the sub must demonstrate the performance of its independent power generator, voice communication system and torpedo launch systems, among others.
Previously, president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) staff announced that Huang would be retained on the National Security Council, indicating that he would continue to be the submarine program’s head, they said.
Huang’s involvement in the test would mark the fulfillment of a personal promise to the development team that he would be in the boat at the moment of its acceptance, the official said.
Separately, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has presented medals to 11 people key to the Indigenous Defense Submarine Program, including some team members publicly named for the first time.
Tsai on Wednesday awarded 22 people for their contribution to national defense in a ceremony marking one of her last acts in office before the transfer of power to Lai on Monday.
The list of the submarine project’s members who received honors included Huang, Ministry of National Defense counselor Vice Admiral Shao Wei-yang (邵維揚), Naval Shipbuilding Development Center head Ku Chih-chung (顧志中) and center chief engineer Tsao Chih-tao (曹智韜).
They additionally included CSBC chairman Cheng Wen-lon, general manager Wei Cheng-ssu (魏正賜), deputy general manager Tsai Kun-tsun (蔡坤宗), deputy section head Lo Chih-hung (羅志宏), factory manager Liu Ssu-wei (柳思巍) and special assistant to the chairman Kao Wen-kuei (高文魁), as well as National Chungshan Institute Sheng Lung project director Sun Chun-ching (孫春青).
Sun headed the Sheng Lung Project of elite engineers who developed the indigenous portion of the submarine and tested its systems, subsystems and equipment.
The project team was also charged with developing equipment whose foreign suppliers unexpectedly dropped out, including torpedo decoys that Turkey declined to supply after China intervened.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
RSS