The submarine Haikun continues to conduct sea testing. (File photo, taken by reporter Li Huizhou)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] The delivery date of the Chinese-made submarine "Hai Kun" is getting closer and closer, and the follow-up ship is being prepared in a "2+3+2" model. Taiwan's think tank National Defense and Security Group has put forward policy recommendations. In order to strengthen the overall combat effectiveness of the submarine force, the follow-up ship should establish the ability to launch submarine-launched missiles. The "Hai Kun" should also incorporate this performance improvement into its future planning in the future. At the same time, it will strengthen its land-attack effectiveness, so as to build effective underwater deterrence and asymmetric combat capabilities.
According to the public budget of the Ministry of National Defense in 2027, the total amount of the third-stage follow-up ship preparation plan for domestically produced submarines has reached 284.0808 billion yuan, and it is expected that all ships will be completed and delivered by 2038. In terms of batch construction, according to the military's previous plan, a total of 7 follow-up ships will be built.
Taiwan's think tank pointed out that my country's navy has been renovating its submarine force. Although it acquired two "Stegosaurus" class submarines in 1988, it has been unable to acquire new submarines for more than 30 years until the delivery of the domestically built "Hai Kun" submarine. The navy's underwater combat capabilities are about to usher in a new look. In particular, the future follow-up ships of domestically produced submarines have decided to adopt the "2+3+2" model for preparation. The Navy also completed a contract with Taiwanese ships for another two ships in March 2025 to complete the stage goals. There are only a few suggestions worthy of continued efforts.
Defense Minister Gu Lixiong said in an exclusive interview with this newspaper last year that in order to strengthen the overall strength of the submarine and improve system integration efficiency, the submarine will not only be equipped with MK-48 heavy-duty torpedoes, but also acquire submarine-launched anti-ship missiles to ensure that the submarine's combat capabilities are in line with international advanced technology. The picture shows the moment when an active Stegosaurus-class submarine launches a submarine-launched Harpoon missile and the missile breaks through the water and lifts off into the air. (File photo, taken from the Navy History Museum)
The policy recommendations put forward by the think tank National Defense and Security Group include:
(1) Establishing back-dimensional energy
The subsequent maintenance of domestically-made submarines will have priority in obtaining maintenance qualifications. If 8 submarines are completed and commissioned, taking the "Stegosaurus" class submarine as an example, it will need to be overhauled in about 2 years (a duration of 10-14 months) and scheduled maintenance every 3 months (1 month). Therefore, it is estimated that there may be about 2-4 submarines under maintenance in normal times. This is a heavy burden on the contractor. Therefore, how the contractor improves maintenance manpower and energy needs to be improved. There may be 4-5 submarines stationed in Suao Port in the future. The Chinese military and Taiwanese ships should consider how to establish sufficient maintenance (parts warehouses, factories and docks, etc.) and ammunition storage space to meet future combat training needs.
(2) Improve missile capabilities
Since the "Hai Kun" is a prototype ship, in order to minimize risks, it has not established the ability to launch submarine-launched missiles. This function will only be considered in subsequent ships. "Hai Kun" should also incorporate this performance improvement into its future planning. By then, all eight domestically built submarines and two "Stegosaurus" class vessels will be capable of launching submarine-launched cruise missiles, and the flexibility of combat operations will be effectively improved.
(3) Strengthen land attack effectiveness
my country has purchased a submarine-launched Harpoon missile model for the Stegosaurus class. Because it has a high-precision GPS/INS guidance mode, it can use longitude and latitude coordinates to guide the missile to attack specific targets without the need for missile radar seeker locking. However, in order to carry out the function of attacking land targets, it is necessary to establish a terrain image map and database of the attack area (satellite reconnaissance and regular updates), and this database still relies on the integration of the Ministry of National Defense.
(4) Establishing satellite links
In a joint combat environment, submarines and shore-based command needs are closely integrated to facilitate mission execution. From the above-mentioned submarine combat applications, it can also be seen that many combat areas have exceeded the scope of my country's observation, and electromagnetic waves are affected by the curvature of the earth and the ionosphere, and cannot effectively communicate. Therefore, establishing military-specific satellite communication capabilities can achieve instant communication effects, especially in anti-ship operations, this capability is indispensable.
