Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July.
The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support.
The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials, CSBC chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said testing has been proceeding smoothly, but declined to forecast exact timing.
“It is not convenient to say exactly when, but it is coming soon,” he said.
In a recent interview, he said that the company on Feb. 8 released a video documenting the submerged sea trials, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures.
The footage showed the vessel diving progressively deeper into darkness, he said, adding that light is quickly absorbed by seawater.
Submarines become harder to detect and communicate with underwater, with visibility already limited beyond depths of about 30m, he said.
Future tests would involve deeper dives, he said, adding that no further video might be available, as it would be too dark to take any images.
Regarding upcoming testing priorities, including torpedo launches, Chen said basic checks of whether torpedo tubes could fire had already been completed ashore without issue.
The next step would involve launching inert torpedoes without warheads, which would test not only the tubes themselves, but also integration with other systems, he said, calling it a key milestone in subsequent trials.
Endurance and durability tests would also be required, meaning it could take a longer time, he added.
CSBC said that after completing submergence trials, the submarine would enter the evaluation phase.
In the first stage, the shipbuilder would conduct technical assessments to verify that platform and combat systems meet requirements, including tests of endurance, underwater noise, sonar performance, combat systems and simulated weapons firing, it said.
Upon completion, the submarine would be delivered to the navy for tactical evaluation, it said.
It would operate in exercise areas to undergo integrated technical and tactical assessments, validating its overall combat capability, it said.
Tests would include live-fire exercises, single-vessel tactical operations, multi-vessel coordinated operations and long-duration patrol readiness, it added.
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