TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Navy will be able to start using Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Narwhal, before Nov. 3, 2025, the shipbuilding company said Friday (March 29).
Harbor acceptance tests (HAT) for the vessel were proceeding as planned, with no timetable set for its sea acceptance tests (SAT), CSBC Corporation, Taiwan Chair Cheng Wen-lon (鄭文隆) told the Liberty Times.
The current HAT phase includes about 70 different tests often conducted simultaneously, so their level of success will only become clear later, he said. Fuel, power, and water systems were involved in the HAT project.
According to Cheng, the initial plan was to complete the first phase in late April before starting SAT tests, but there was no fixed timetable as the safety of the submarine is the priority.
The SAT phase will start with the Narwhal floating on the surface, followed by tests at different depths. The final step will be a mock torpedo hitting a target, Cheng said.
While the contract set Nov. 3, 2025 as the date for the commissioning of the submarine into the Navy, the CSBC chief said the current level of progress would allow the ceremony to happen earlier.