DEFENSE / Narwhal submarine fires 2 torpedoes during 8th round of dive tests

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) As a part of its eighth round of dive tests, the Narwhal, Taiwan's first domestically built submarine, conducted torpedo launch trials, CSBC Corp., Taiwan, the vessel's primary contractor, said Thursday.

In a news release, CSBC said that the submarine, known as Hai Kun (海鯤) in Chinese, fired two torpedoes on Wednesday during the weapon launch verification phase of its ongoing sea acceptance tests.

The weapon launch verification phase was initiated with the aim of authenticating the Narwhal's combat capabilities in areas including combat system reconnaissance, analysis, and torpedo system launch and guidance.

A short video released by CSBC showed the Narwhal sailing out from the Port of Kaohsiung, accompanied by a number of support ships.

With the assistance of helicopters to mark the positions of the fired torpedoes, the munitions were then recovered by the Navy's new Da Wu rescue and salvage ship.