Taiwan conducts first underwater test of home-built submarine
Taiwan has completed the first underwater sea trial of its first domestically developed submarine.
CSBC Corp, which is leading construction of a planned fleet of eight submarines, said late Thursday that the first vessel, named the Narwhal, had successfully completed its maiden underwater test, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The trial involved a “shallow-water submerged navigation test” conducted off the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
“Submarines are a key strategic capability with deterrent power,” CSBC said following the test.
Taiwan has made the indigenous submarine programme a central pillar of its military modernisation drive. The push comes as China conducts near-daily military exercises around the island to reinforce its sovereignty claims.
The Narwhal had originally been scheduled for delivery to the navy in 2024, where it would have joined two ageing submarines purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s. However, the programme has faced delays. CSBC cited constraints in the international environment and pressure from what it described as “the Chinese communists” as persistent challenges since the project’s inception.
Taiwan has said it aims to deploy at least two domestically built submarines by 2027, with the possibility of equipping later models with missiles. The first submarine carries a price tag of T$49.36 billion ($1.58 billion) and will use a combat system supplied by Lockheed Martin Corp, along with U.S.-made Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes.
By Nijat Babayev
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