When discussing the progress of testing and delivery of the domestically-built submarine "Hai Kun", social focus often falls on when it will be completed and when it will be delivered. However, a submarine is not an ordinary piece of equipment that can be put into combat immediately after the hull construction is completed. Its true combat effectiveness depends on whether various systems can be integrated and operated, and whether the safety performance has been fully verified. According to media reports on October 13, after the combat system performance improvement of the active Sea Dragon submarine was completed in July 2024, system integration, testing and refinement continued until July 2026 when all improvement projects were completed. This journey reminds us that the completion of high-tech military equipment is not only a matter of project progress, but also a test of safety and quality.
The experience of the Sea Dragon submarine deserves special attention. Even if the combat system performance is improved on an existing hull, after the main project is completed, there may still be projects that require further verification and improvement. This also shows that the completion of equipment installation does not mean that all systems have reached expected performance; whether various equipment can operate stably and cooperatively still needs to be repeatedly tested and confirmed. For Haikun, which was built from scratch, system integration and performance verification are aspects that cannot be ignored. From power and power management to combat systems and ship management systems, all equipment must be tested in overall operation. Submarines perform underwater missions for a long time, and any unconfirmed problems may affect navigation safety and combat capabilities. Therefore, in the face of tests and adjustments that have yet to be completed, success or failure cannot be measured solely by the delivery date, nor must necessary safety verification be sacrificed in order to keep up with the schedule.
However, supporting domestic submarines does not mean that all progress delays should be taken for granted. The performance improvement experience of the Hailong can illustrate that system integration and subsequent improvements take time, but it cannot directly prove that every delay of the Haikun has the same reason. The construction background, project scope and testing conditions of the two are not exactly the same, and they should still be reviewed separately based on the actual test results, problem improvement status and contract performance. Therefore, the government and the construction team have the responsibility to appropriately explain the testing progress, projects to be improved, and verification principles without leaking sensitive information, so that the public can understand the actual progress of the project. Those parts that do not meet the ship delivery conditions should also be dealt with according to the contract. Just because the domestically built project has strategic significance, we cannot lower the quality requirements or exempt ourselves from responsibilities.
Domestic manufacturing of submarines is an important project for Taiwan to establish its independent defense capabilities. The value of the Haikun lies not only in completing the first domestically built submarine, but also in its ability to accumulate design, integration, testing and subsequent maintenance. Chinese people should give the technical team the necessary professional space, but they should also require transparent project progress, reliable quality verification, and clear contractual responsibilities. True support for national defense independence does not mean blindly urging the delivery of ships, nor unconditionally justifying delays, but insisting on uncompromising safety and uncompromising quality, so that every test becomes the basis for mature combat capabilities. Only in this way can the Haikun go from being a milestone in national engineering to gradually becoming a truly reliable underwater defense force.
