The military is planning to build a submarine rescue vessel after the completion of its first domestic submarine prototype, according to a defense ministry report released last week.
The project to build the rescue vessel would be carried out over a seven-year period — from next year to 2033 — at a cost of NT$13.2 billion (US$417.9 million), according to the report titled “Regulated Military Materials in the Second Half of Fiscal Year 2025,” posted on the Ministry of National Defense Web site on Friday last week.
The funds would be allocated by the navy to build a vessel that would enhance its submerged rescue capability, the report said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Separately, between next year and 2032, the navy is planning to build a second Panshih-class fast combat support ship at an estimated cost of NT$17.2 billion, the report said.
Between 2028 and 2034, the navy is planning to build another Yushan-class amphibious landing platform dock at an estimated cost of NT$13.4 billion, it said.
The navy has a goal of constructing 10 light frigates from 2028 to 2040 at a cost of NT$250 billion, and building two rescue and salvage ships from next year to 2034 at a cost of NT$21.8 billion, the report said.
The report was released one day after Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, began its long-awaited submerged tests.
The ministry had planned to complete all the tests on the Hai Kun by September last year to meet a delivery deadline on November last year, but the sea trials suffered some major delays.
When the Hai Kun is completed, a second submarine is scheduled to be built under the project, the ministry said.
The broader goal is to ensure that the navy has four submarines by next year — the Hai Kun prototype and a sister ship, along with its two Chien Lung-class (Sword Dragon) submarines that were purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s, the ministry said.
Taiwan has two World War II-era submarines purchased from the US in the 1970s, but they are used exclusively for training.
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