The Hai Kun submarine has completed 50 percent to 60 percent of Harbor Acceptance Test requirements, the navy told a news conference at the Ministry of National Defense yesterday in a rebuttal of allegations that the boat failed to meet 70 trial metrics.
Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Chiu Chun-jung’s (邱俊榮) remark came a day after Taiwan Television News reported that the boat failed to meet 70 of the trial’s technical requirements.
The indigenously developed and built Hai Kun — the lead boat of its class — is expected to be the first of seven new attack submarines.
Photo: Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
Media reports on the submarine’s failure to meet the trial’s metrics are mostly false, since the Harbor Acceptance Test discovered only about a dozen shortcomings, Chiu said, adding that many of the trial’s tests involve interrelated capabilities.
The navy anticipates completing the submarine’s Sea Acceptance Test in December and receiving delivery of it in November next year, he said.
The Sea Acceptance Test would involve trials in surfaced navigation, submerged navigation, diving and other key performance categories, he added.
This pace of progress is deemed acceptable and delays have been within the expected margins, Chiu said.
The submarines would be built in three batches of two, three and two for a total of seven boats, instead of the previously planned batches of three, two and two, he said.
This change was made to allow more flexibility in the construction of follow-up vessels, give the manufacturing and design team room to absorb the lessons learned and decrease the costs per boat, he added.
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