Taiwan's indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun, reportedly conducted its first submersion test on Monday (January 26).
According to a compilation of reports from Taiwan's United Daily News and Liberty Times, the Hai Kun was moved from the Haichang plant to the Taiwan Shipbuilding small dock on February 27, 2024, and relocated again to Pier 91 of Kaohsiung Port on July 15, 2024 for harbor acceptance testing (HAT). Counting from when it docked at the pier for harbor testing on July 15, 2024, the prototype Hai Kun submarine has been under testing for more than a year and a half.
On June 14 last year, the Hai Kun left the pier and, for the first time, operated under its own power within Kaohsiung Port. On June 17, it conducted its first sea trial (SAT). Until November 28 last year, the Hai Kun was only conducting surface navigation tests and had not begun submersion tests.
According to the contract between Taiwan's military and Taiwan Shipbuilding, the Hai Kun was originally scheduled to complete sea trials and delivery by November last year. In December, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng, during a special report at the Legislative Yuan, stated it was already impossible to complete all sea trials by the end of November deadline. Subsequently, Chiu said that, in accordance with the contract, the penalty for Taiwan Shipbuilding is currently NT$190,000 (24,000 Malaysian ringgit) per day.
According to the contract between Taiwan's military and Taiwan Shipbuilding, the Hai Kun was originally scheduled to complete sea trials and delivery by November last year. In December, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng, during a special report at the Legislative Yuan, stated it was already impossible to complete all sea trials by the end of November deadline. Subsequently, Chiu said that, in accordance with the contract, the penalty for Taiwan Shipbuilding is currently NT$190,000 (24,000 Malaysian ringgit) per day.
Counting from the first sea trial date of June 17, 2025, the prototype Hai Kun submarine will only have had seven months of testing. With the upcoming three-stage submersion tests: snorkel-depth testing, shallow water depth testing, and deep water depth testing, and with Taiwan Shipbuilding referencing foreign cases where the process took over a year, it is estimated that the Hai Kun will not complete all its tests until at least mid-year.
A source said the biggest cause of delay in Hai Kun's delivery was the integrated platform management system, which was unable to effectively connect with the vessel's onboard sensors and weapon systems. With the assistance of dozens of foreign consultants, this problem has been preliminarily resolved, and signal connections between the platform and all systems are now functioning normally. Taiwan Shipbuilding and the Navy have set June this year as the handover target.
A source said the biggest cause of delay in Hai Kun's delivery was the integrated platform management system, which was unable to effectively connect with the vessel's onboard sensors and weapon systems. With the assistance of dozens of foreign consultants, this problem has been preliminarily resolved, and signal connections between the platform and all systems are now functioning normally. Taiwan Shipbuilding and the Navy have set June this year as the handover target.