Taiwan plans to build submarine rescue ship

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's military is planning to build a submarine rescue vessel after the completion of its first domestic submarine prototype, according to a defense ministry report released last week.

The project to build the submarine rescue ship will be implemented over a seven-year period -- from 2027 to 2033 -- at a cost of NT$13.2 billion (US$417.39 million), according to the report titled "Regulated Military Materials in the Second Half of Fiscal Year 2025," posted on the Ministry of National Defense (MND) website on Jan. 30.

The funds will be allocated by the Navy to build a vessel that will boost its submarine rescue capability, the report said.

Meanwhile, between 2027 and 2032, the Navy is planning to build a second Panshih-class fast combat support ship at an estimated cost of NT$17.2 billion, according to the report.

Over the six-year period 2028 to 2034, it is planning to build another Yushan-class amphibious landing platform dock at an estimated cost of NT$13.4 billion, the report said.

Taiwan's military also has a goal of constructing 10 light frigates from 2028 to 2040 at a cost of NT$250 billion, and building two rescue and salvage ships from 2027 to 2034 at a cost of NT$21.8 billion, the MND said in the report.

The report was released one day after Taiwan's indigenous defense submarine (IDS) prototype, christened Hai Kun, or Narwhal in English, began its long-awaited submerged tests.

The MND had planned to complete all tests on the Narwhal by September last year to meet a November 2025 delivery deadline, but the trials suffered some major delays.

When the Narwhal is completed, a second submarine is scheduled to be built by 2027 under Taiwan's IDS project, the MND said.

The wider goal is to ensure that Taiwan's Navy has a total of four submarines by 2027 -- the Narwhal prototype and a second IDS, along with its two existing Chien Lung-class (Sword Dragon) submarines that were purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s, according to the defense ministry.

Taiwan also has two World War II vintage submarines purchased from the United States in the 1970s, but they are now being used exclusively for training purposes.