Tuesday, March 6, 2018

overview of submarine programs, mostly in Asian waters

   ABB (of Finland) said it has signed a formal agreement with Chinese shipyard Wuchang Ship Building Group to deepen cooperation with an emphasis on developing greener ships and digital solutions.
  By utilizing ABB’s power and propulsion expertise along with its focus on maritime software, the partnership will help Wuchang Ship Building Group manufacture highly efficient and technologically advanced vessels, ABB said.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/partners-shipyard-chinese418131
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  China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, CSIC, is transferring the assets of its subsidiary Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co to Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co, another of its subsidiaries, to enlarge the latter's capacity in building both military and commercial vessels.

  The Hubei-based Wuchang Shipbuilding is one of China's manufacturing bases to build conventional submarines and frigates, as well as maritime defense equipment and law-enforcement vessels….In 2015, Wuchang Shipbuilding pulled in 12 billion yuan ($1.83 billion) in sales revenue    http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2016-06/13/content_25687480.htm
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      Virtually no shipyard the world over has more experience in the design and construction of non-nuclear submarines than ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems with its Operating Unit Submarines (Kiel). The Operating Unit is a partner of the German Navy and has also delivered submarines for coastal and blue water deployment to the navies of 19 other countries.
  Decades of experience as well as continuously introduced innovative ideas and concepts are the basis for the success of the submarine shipyard based in Kiel. Like the HDW Class 209, which can be found in every ocean in the world.  No other class of submarine has been built more often since World War II. Now the HDW Class 212A and 214 submarines have entered new dimensions.
  Ever since there have been submarines, the goal has been to extend their diving time.  With air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, this has become possible for non-nuclear boats.  These propulsion systems increase the underwater range significantly and thus reduce the risk of discovery. In Kiel an air-independent propulsion system has been simultaneously developed and deployed - the HDW fuel cell plant.  Besides new submarines, serving boats can also be retrofitted with this system.
  HDW Class 212A and 214 submarines were the first in the world to undertake extra long dives independent of external air sources, equipped with a high-performance fuel cell propulsion system     https://www.thyssenkrupp-marinesystems.com/en/submarines.html
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8-22-17  Norway plans to sign a deal to buy four submarines from ThyssenKrupp in 2019, Norwegian defense minister Marie Eriksen Soreide said on Tuesday during a visit with her German counterpart to a German marine base.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-norway-submarines/norway-to-buy-four-thyssenkrupp-subs-in-4-3-billion-euro-deal-idUSKCN1B21D8
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https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2017/02/03/norway-joins-forces-with-germany-to-procure-new-submarines/
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1-31-18    India-France submarine deal

The state-of- the-art technology utilised for construction of the Scorpene class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. 

The attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface. The stealth of this potent platform is enhanced by the special attention given to various signatures. These stealth features give it an invulnerability, unmatched by most submarines.

Scorpene submarines can undertake multifarious types of missions i.e Anti-Surface warfare, Anti-Submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc. The submarine is designed to operate in all theatres, with means provided to ensure interoperability with other components of a Naval Task Force. It is a potent platform, marking a generational shift in submarine operations.  https://www.marinelink.com/news/submarine-launches433529
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 3-1-17   The Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) held a flag raising ceremony for two new Russian-made Project 636M (improved Kilo-class) diesel electric attack submarines at Cam Ranh naval base in Vietnam’s south central coastal Khanh Hoa province on February 28, Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense reports in a press release.
  The two submarines — Da Nang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau — will join four other Project 636M boats already in service with the VPN’s Submarine Brigade 189 and are the last two subs commissioned as part of a $ 2.6 billion contract (some sources indicate $2.1 billion) with Russia’s Admiralty Shipyards for six diesel-electric attack submarines in 2009.    https://thediplomat.com/2017/03/black-holes-in-the-south-china-sea-vietnam-commissions-2-new-attack-submarines/
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8-3-17   The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut) has commissioned its first attack submarine in over three decades this week.
  The first out of three ordered Type 209/1400 Chang Bogo-class (a license-built variant of the German Type 209 sub) diesel-electric attack submarine was handed over by South Korean defense contractor Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) on August 2.   https://thediplomat.com/2017/08/indonesia-commissions-first-attack-submarine-in-34-years/
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11-9-17    Japanese shipbuilder Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) launched the 10th Soryu-class diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK) in Kobe on November 6, according to a KHI press release. The new SSK was laid down in January 2015 and is expected to enter service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in 2019.
The new sub, which has been named Shuriyu, is the fifth Soryu-class boat to be built by KHI   and the 28th submarine overall constructed by the shipbuilder after the end of World War II. The remaining submarines of the Soryu-class were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which has assembled 26 subs since the end of the war.  https://thediplomat.com/2017/11/japan-launches-10th-advanced-high-tech-attack-sub/
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1-10-17     Shang class submarine is part of the latest generation of nuclear attack submarines designed and commissioned by China.  The submarine also has the ability to fire cruise missiles - including the Babur missile that Pakistan yesterday claimed to test-fire off its coast, a claim that has been disregarded by the Indian Navy.

Pakistan's acquisition of a 'Shang' class submarine will have an impact on the naval balance in the Indian Ocean, which is currently skewed heavily in favour of the Indian Navy.  India's navy is significantly larger and more capable than its regional rival.

Unlike conventional diesel electric submarines that Pakistan has been operating for decades, a nuclear attack submarine has practically unlimited endurance.  Its nuclear reactor is unlikely to require refueling during the life of the submarine, which means the 'Shang' can theoretically operate indefinitely under water.  Even though realistically, it will be limited by the amount of food and supplies it can carry for its crew.  The Pakistani acquisition of a 'Shang' class submarine is meant to counter the Indian Navy's 'Akula-2' class nuclear attack submarines which New Delhi has been leasing from Russia.

Considered among the most powerful submarines of its class, the Akula-2 - named INS Chakra - has been leased for 10 years and will be returned to Russia within four years, by which time the Navy will have acquired a second submarine of the same class.  The terms were recently worked out between the two countries.    https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-likely-to-acquire-chinese-nuclear-attack-submarines-ndtv-exclusive-1647370

Now for the first time, details are emerging on how the Indian Navy has been able to track the movement of Chinese submarines, which first started operating in the Indian Ocean in 2013   https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-likely-to-acquire-chinese-nuclear-attack-submarines-ndtv-exclusive-1647370
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10-19-17  
  The Navy's new stealth submarines might not be so stealthy after all.  A top executive at the company building the subs has thrown doubt on whether cutting-edge pump-jet propulsion technology will be used as planned.  The ultra-quiet technology was a key selling point for the French design that won the Government's competitive evaluation process to build the new submarines at a cost of $50 billion.
Jean-Michel Billig, Executive Director of Naval Group, was asked at a naval conference in Sydney earlier this month whether pump-jet propulsion "remained viable" for the Australian submarine.  He said it "could" be viable, but also agreed that propeller technology might be used on the submarines.
The winning French bid to design and build the new submarines boasted of how the technology would help make them "the world's most advanced conventionally powered submarine".
"Cutting edge technology direct from France's nuclear submarine program pushes the submarines' stealth capabilities into a new realm," a narrator said in a marketing video for the bid.
Defence analyst Andrew Davies of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said pump jets were designed to be used in nuclear submarines, not the conventionally powered boats Australia would use.  "There is a real question about how you marry a pump-jet with a conventional submarine," he told AM.  "The couple of experiments over the years that countries have done where they tried   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-19/new-subs-fleets-promised-stealth-technology-questioned/9058858to put a pump jet on conventional submarines went nowhere.”
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11-7-17    South Korea reportedly seeks to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of its plan to purchase billions of dollars worth of American military hardware.  Seoul also eyes removing the limit on its ballistic missiles’ payload to deter North Korea.

  The US and South Korea reached an agreement on developing a joint deterrence mechanism against Pyongyang during a meeting between visiting US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.  The agreement particularly envisages the expansion of America’s presence in South Korea as well as dismantling the limits on Seoul’s ballistic missile payloads.  https://www.rt.com/news/409131-south-korea-us-submarines/

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