TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The construction of Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine prototype will officially begin on Nov. 3.
A ceremony will be held that day at CSBC’s Kaohsiung shipbuilding plant and will be hosted by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The submarine is expected to be ready for launch in the third quarter of 2024 at the earliest and will be sent to the Navy for sea trials in 2025, Liberty Times reported.
The Kaohsiung location has a special 45-meter-tall factory for building submarine hulls. It can accommodate three submarines simultaneously and in the future will be able to handle ship construction and maintenance.
According to Up Media, the submarine prototype is divided into six sections. After a section meets testing standards, a single test of each system of the submarine will be carried out, including the propulsion system, power system, control system, and combat system.
Afterward, an integration test between the systems will be carried out before each is installed into the submarine. Once the various sections are welded together, more tests will be carried out again before finally launching into the water for performance testing.