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Russia Touts New Submarine MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - Foreign customers have shown high interest in Russia’s advanced Amur-1650 class submarine, state-run arms dealer Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday. “Of the nine countries that are planning to modernize or develop their submarine fleets…three have already chosen the Amur-1650 project,” Rosoboronexport’s director Anatoly Isaikin said. He did not name the countries in question. The ongoing work on air-independent (closed cycle) propulsion systems for the submarine should further fuel the customers’ interest, he added. The Amur 1650 is one of several participants in a tender by the Indian Navy for six submarines...

Russia plans to sell multipurpose submarines abroad January 22, 2013 Andrei Lvov Russia’s military-industrial complex is increasing arms exports through Rosoboronexport, year after year, and the naval component is no exception. However, the latest contract for the supply of non-nuclear submarines is unique. Rosoboronexport is in continued talks with Italy on the supply of S1000 submarines. However, these boats will not see action in either the Russian or the Italian navy. Instead, they will be sold exclusively to third-party countries. Experts at the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering and Italy’s Fincantieri completed the conceptual design of the S1000...

Operation Samson Israel's Deployment of Nuclear Missiles on Subs from Germany Many have wondered for years about the exact capabilities of the submarines Germany exports to Israel. Now, experts in Germany and Israel have confirmed that nuclear-tipped missiles have been deployed on the vessels. And the German government has long known about it. By SPIEGEL The pride of the Israeli navy is rocking gently in the swells of the Mediterranean, with the silhouette of the Carmel mountain range reflected on the water's surface. To reach the Tekumah, you have to walk across a wooden jetty at the pier in the...

The ultimate tool of warfare New details regarding the capabilities of the 4th Dolphin submarine that the Israeli Navy is expected to receive in 2013 The Israeli Navy's new Dolphin submarine is the ultimate tool of warfare. Forget everything you knew about submarines, most of which is probably from watching war movies. This is something entirely different. We will not list all the measures installed onboard the submarine. This is in part because not all is known to us, and also because parts of it are classified. However, according to foreign publications, the submarine has two systems from which one...

Canada 'daft' for buying British subs: British MP OTTAWA — Canada was "daft" in purchasing four used submarines with "intrinsic problems" from Britain, a British MP who raised questions about the 1998 sale said Thursday. British Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that Ottawa should ask for a refund. "Why were the Canadians daft enough to buy them?" he said. "It's either incompetence on behalf of the Canadians or sheer, smooth-talking salesmen from the MOD (ministry of defense) here in Britain." "My God, it's a sad tale, isn't it? 'Buyer beware' should have been painted on...

Ministry denies plan to buy German submarines By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter The Ministry of National Defense yesterday denied a magazine report saying Taiwan plans to procure four German-made -diesel-electric submarines that were originally intended for Greece. The Hong Kong-based Chinese-language magazine, Asian Week, reported in its latest edition that Greece had ordered four Type 214 diesel-electric submarines from German company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), but because Greece was struggling to save itself from bankruptcy and was unable to pay for the submarines, HDW planned to sell them to Taiwan. The report said HDW would otherwise face bankruptcy. The...

J’lem and Berlin sign contract for sixth submarine By YAAKOV KATZ 02/05/2012 02:38 Exclusive: German defense official dismisses reports that Merkel considered canceling deal in response to Gilo construction. Israel and Germany signed a contract a few weeks ago finalizing the sale of a sixth Dolphinclass submarine to the Israel Navy, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The Defense Ministry initiated talks with Germany last year about buying a sixth submarine but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government initially balked when Israel asked that it underwrite part of the cost. In late November, though, Germany announced that it had approved the deal and...

Indonesia’s Submarine Play Indonesia's military has signed a $1.1 billion contract for three submarines. What does that mean for the region? The latest $ 1.1 billion contract for three Type-209/1400 diesel-electric submarines looks set to breathe new life into the Indonesian Navy (Tentera Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut or TNI-AL). It represents the third major TNI-AL purchase after the acquisition of new corvettes and landing ships since 2000 and has also been described as a move to “maintain power balance in the region,” prompting various analysts to attribute the purchase to Jakarta’s attempt to play regional submarine “catch-up.” For more...

Half-price super subs tempt navy by: Cameron Stewart From:The Australian AUSTRALIA can build a new fleet of 12 state-of-the-art submarines in Adelaide for $18 billion, less than half the cost of initial estimates, according to a major report to be released next month. The report, by strategic think tank the Kokoda Foundation, will be embraced by the Gillard government, which has been under pressure from critics to opt for smaller, cheaper, ready-made submarines from Europe rather than pursue Navy's more expensive but preferred option of building a next generation of the Collins-class boats. The report - Australia's Future Submarine, obtained...

New home needed for Russian Cold War boat What do Berlin, Glasgow Cardiff and London all have in common? They have all been considered as new homes for The Black Widow, a Russian submarine that has been moored on the River Medway for almost a decade. The boat moved to Medway in 2003 and is on the Strood side of the Rochester Bridge. Skelwith, the company that owns the vessel, is searching for a new location. John Sutton, 47, who manages the submarine, said the company would like to open it as a tourist attraction, but has encountered a number...

Taiwan giving up on US subs, eyeing local plan: analyst By J. Michael Cole / Staff Reporter Thu, Dec 15, 2011 - Page 1 Taiwan has all but given up on acquiring diesel-electric submarines from the US and is expected to embark on a domestic program with assistance from abroad, a leading defense analyst told the Taipei Times. Longstanding plans to augment TaiwanÂ’s small and aging submarine fleet gained momentum in 2001, when the administration of US president George W. Bush offered to provide eight diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan for about US$12 billion. With efforts going nowhere, in 2003 the...

Australia seeks European designs on $36 bln submarine fleet Dec 13 (Reuters) - Australia has asked three European companies to submit designs to replace its submarine fleet at a cost of up to A$36 billion ($36 billion) in a defence buildup aimed at protecting resource exports and countering an accelerating arms race in Asia. French naval builder DCNS, part owned by Thales, Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH and Spanish state shipbuilder Navantia had been asked for information on conventional submarine designs, Australia's Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare said on Tuesday. "The Future Submarines Project is the biggest and most complex...

Australian Navy submarine crew's sacrifices go deep SOMEWHERE beneath the wild seas of the Great Australian Bight, 50 Australian Navy submariners are heading home to their HMAS Stirling base in Western Australia after seven weeks in eastern waters. Under the command of 22-year submarine veteran Commander Jason Cupples, the Collins-class boat HMAS Dechaineux will spend about 10 days cruising hundreds of metres below the surface before it sees the sun again off the WA coast near Rockingham. The Courier-Mail spent a day on board Dechaineux off Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast last Friday to witness the capability of...

Report: Germany could halt Israeli submarine deal over settlements Oct 30, 2011, 12:15 GMT Berlin - Germany has threatened to suspend the delivery of a nuclear-capable submarine to Israel, in protest at the country's settlement policy, according to a media report released Sunday. Government sources confirmed to Der Spiegel news magazine that Germany may withhold a Dolphin submarine commissioned by the Israeli military. Israel already owns three strategically important Dolphin submarines, the weekly magazine reported, while two more are being built in the German harbour city of Kiel. Earlier this year, the German government granted 135 million euros (191 million...

Costs sinking our submarine fleet * by: Ian Mcphedran * From: The Courier-Mail AUSTRALIA'S troubled Collins Class submarines are more than twice as costly to operate as US Navy nuclear submarines that are more than five times larger. According to new figures obtained by News Limited, the six Collins boats cost about $630 million a year or $105 million each to maintain and sustain, making them the most expensive submarines of any type to ever put to sea. At present just two of the fleet of six boats could go to war and with a maximum of three available at...

Korea to make $1.1 bil. sub sale to Indonesia By Jung Sung-ki Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has begun final-phase negotiations with the Indonesian government over the construction and sale of three 1,300-ton, Type-209 submarines valued at $1.1 billion, the company said Tuesday. Korea’s biggest arms sale is expected to be completed by November. Previously, a $400 million deal with Indonesia to sell 16 T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jets, jointly built by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin of the United States, was the biggest weapons sale. “We have launched talks to sign a contract with Indonesia’s defense...

Talk of the Day -- Taiwan mulling to build submarines 2011/09/19 21:58:20 Taiwan is studying the feasibility of building diesel-electric submarines itself after the United States shelved its procurement request for many years, a local newspaper reported Monday. The United Daily News cited unidentified military sources as saying that research on submarine building has been launched and that the military is trying to acquire production know-how from abroad. The following are excerpts from the local media coverage of the issue: United Daily News: The military has commissioned a local shipbuilder to contact a non-U.S. country capable of building submarines for...

How Israel’s doomsday fleet responded to 9/11 9 September 2011 Rare glimpse into Israel’s doomsday weapon – the submarine fleet By Alex Fishman YNetNews.com The day the Twin Towers collapsed in Manhattan, September 11, 2001, Israeli submarine “Leviathan” of the advanced Dolphin model was on a training sail somewhere at sea – the exact location of Israel’s submarines will always remain classified, even dozens of years after the fact. At one point, the submarine rose to the surface to take a break. The sub’s commander, then-Lt. Colonel Oded, looked through the periscope and saw a calm, blue sea. However, one...

"Almost Like a Nuclear Submarine" A security official discusses the capabilities the navy’s sixth submarine The new submarines have a dramatically different capability from the existing ones in terms of their propulsion systems,” a security official tells IsraelDefense. This comes on the heels of recent publications about Israel and Germany agreeing to the construction of a sixth submarine for the Israeli navy’s fleet of three active submarines. The reports say the deal was almost closed, during German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière’s last visit to Israel. A previous contract, following the Second Lebanon War, was between Israel and two German...

All Canadian submarines now out of commission By David Pugliese, Postmedia News September 4, 2011 The navy’s last operational submarine is now sidelined until 2016, leaving the service without an underwater capability and potentially throwing into question the future of the submarine fleet. The submarine program, which has already cost around $900 million, has been plagued with various maintenance issues that have prevented the boats from being available for operations on a regular basis. A media report in July noted that one of the subs, HMCS Windsor, arrived in Canada in the fall of 2001 but since then it has...

RSS Archer submarine arrives in Singapore RSS Archer, the most advanced submarine in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), arrived here for the first time on Wednesday morning. Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng and other senior naval officers were at Changi Naval Base to witness its arrival from Karlskrona, Sweden. The Archer-class boat is one of two former Royal Swedish Navy Vaastergotland-class submarines acquired second-hand by the RSN in 2005. It was launched in Karlskrona for sea trials two years ago, after undergoing upgrading to operate in tropical water conditions. Submarine crew members from the RSN have been...

Vietnam to get sub fleet in six years: state media (AFP) – 6 hours ago HANOI — Vietnam will have a submarine fleet within six years, the defence minister reportedly announced on Thursday, in what analysts say is intended as a deterrent to China's increasing assertiveness at sea. Russian media reported in December 2009 that Vietnam had agreed to buy half a dozen diesel-electric submarines for about $2 billion. "In the coming five to six years, we will have a submarine brigade with six Kilo 636-Class subs," Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh was quoted as saying by the state-controlled Tuoi...

Russian Black Sea Fleet to receive 6 new diesel subs Sevastopol © RIA Novosti. Sergey Petrosjan MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) Russia's Black Sea Fleet will be strengthened with six Kilo class diesel-electric submarines in the next few years, Navy Commander Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said on Friday. "Six diesel-electric submarines of Project 636 [Kilo class] will be built for the Black Sea Fleet in the next few years," Vysotsky said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti. The Black Sea Fleet, based in Sevastopol, has only one submarine, the Project 877 Alrosa, which is undergoing scheduled repairs in Kaliningrad. Vysotsky...

Israel’s Boomers On the Rise By Joe Buff — Defense Tech Undersea Warfare Contributor The State of Israel has long followed what early nuclear war-fighting theorist Henry Kissinger called a policy of nuclear ambiguity. Israel, officially, neither confirms nor denies possessing any nuclear arms, although many defense analysts, politicians, and diplomats the world over have long considered Israel an undeclared nuclear power. To have nukes for strategic deterrence would make sense for such a small nation surrounded by enemies. These enemies don’t just include today’s dangerously volatile nuclear aspirant Iran but also Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War (he...

German government to subsidize sale of sixth submarine for Israel Berlin, July 17, IRNA -- German tax payers are to foot part of the bill for the highly controversial sale of a sixth submarine to Israel, the Hamburg-based news magazine Der Spiegel said in a report on Sunday. German government to subsidize sale of sixth submarine for Israel The German government is to allocate 135 million euros from next year's defense budget to pay for the Dolphin-class submarine, estimated to cost aroud 500 million euros. The deal was apparently sealed during the latest Israel visit of German Defense Minister Thomas...

Brazil launches construction of four Scorpene-class submarines The construction of four Scorpene-class attack submarines for the Brazilian Navy was launched on Saturday at a plant near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil and France signed a $4.25-billion contract on the construction of the four enlarged S-BR diesel-electric submarines, jointly designed by France and Spain, in 2008. The first submarine is expected to enter service in 2017. Scorpene-class submarines are equipped with six 533-mm torpedo tubes for 18 torpedoes or SM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles, or 30 mines in place of torpedoes. Unlike other modifications of the Scorpene-class submarine, the S-BR submarine is not...

Submarine Sails China-Pakistan all-weather friendship scales new heights Pakistan’s efforts to have a sea-based minimum credible nuclear deterrent vis-a-vis India took a significant step forward last month when the state-owned, Wuhan-based China State Shipbuilding Industrial Corp (CSIC) ferried the first Qing-class conventional attack submarine (SSK) to Shanghai to begin a year-long series of sea trials, which is likely to include the test-firing of three CJ-10K submarine-launched, 1,500km-range land attack cruise missiles (LACM) capable of being armed with unitary tactical nuclear warheads. Called the Qing-class SSK, it is a variant of the Type 041A Improved Yuan-class SSK, which is also due...

Not a single submarine seaworthy Cameron Stewart From: The Australian June 10, 2011 12:00AM EXCLUSIVE: For the first time in a generation, Australia does not have a single submarine available to defend the nation today. The Australian understands the entire fleet of six Collins-class submarines cannot be put to sea despite the navy's claim that two of them remain officially "operational". The situation is so dire the navy is believed to have deferred major scheduled maintenance work on its most seaworthy submarine, HMAS Waller, in the hope that at least one submarine will be available in the coming weeks. Not...

Taiwan subs plan tests the waters By Jens Kastner TAIPEI - To help speed up a long-awaited arms deal, Taiwan has decided to accept a United States proposal that Taipei buy four diesel-electric submarines instead of eight, according to local media. The story is difficult to believe as submarines are the last weapons system Beijing wants the Taiwanese to get their hands on. Almost immediately after People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde ended his recent high-profile visit to the US, Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) government-leaning China Times carried a report according to which Washington proposed and Taipei...

Das Boot? Das Running Shoe, More Like Posted by Bill Sweetman at 5/24/2011 6:55 AM CDT French shipbuilder DCNS raised eyebrows at last October's Euronaval show with its extraordinary SMX-25 concept for a submarine like no contemporary design - sharp-prowed, with a big but low sail and a jet-like stern. At the IMDEX show in Singapore last week, DCNS gave a few more details of the design. It doesn't look like other submarines because it's designed for a different job - primarily, anti-surface warfare, rather than anti-submarine warfare. That changes everything. The submarine needs mobility to catch and stay up...

Asians Look To Counter Chinese Submarine Presence May 20, 2011 By Leithen Francis SINGAPORE — Concerns over China’s growing submarine fleet are leading Asian nations to invest in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability. The Malaysian Navy uses six Westland SuperLynx helicopters for ASW, but wants ASW helicopters with more capability and plans to buy six, a senior official from the navy tells Aviation Week on the sidelines of this week’s Imdex naval defense show in Singapore. The government has included the requirement in the country’s 10th Malaysia Plan 2011-2015, he says. The official says the navy wants medium-lift helicopters that have...

Indian Navy’s second Submarine Line will witness strong competition By Cmde Ranjit B Rai (Retd) Mumbai. Indian Navy’s submarine arm had clocked an impressive strength of 21 submarines in the 1980s and its Order of Battle (ORBAT) included the Charlie class nuclear propelled submarine INS Chakra, taken on lease from the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991. The Indian Navy (IN) successfully absorbed the Chakra’s nuclear propulsion technology while it was based at Vishakapatnam. The submarine was seen exercising with a few selected fleet units of the Navy in Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) maneuvers. Since then however, the Navy has...

Israel buys Dolphin submarine Sixth addition to fleet officially purchased from Germany at marked-up price of $1 billion Shimon Shiffer Israel will purchase its sixth Dolphin submarine from Germany at the expense of $1 billion, officials announced Thursday, despite constant objections by the IDF echelon. special ministerial committee decided to accept the recommendations of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who promoted its purchase. Israel already operates three Dolphins and bought two more from Germany in 2006. Dedicated to the security of the Jewish state founded in the wake of the Holocaust, Germany had sold those submarines at deep discounts. But Berlin,...

[Exclusive] Vertical launching system for attack subs developed A 1,800-ton Type-214 submarine of the South Korean Navy sails in waters off Busan. The diesel-electric sub was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries with technical cooperation from HDW of Germany. After 2018 South Korea plans to build 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines equipped with vertical launching systems that allow a variety of weapons, including long-range cruise missiles, to be deployed. / Courtesy of ROK Navy By Jung Sung-ki Korea has developed a vertical launching system (VLS) to be installed on 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines to be deployed after 2018, according to a shipbuilding...

Iran Plans to Equip Submarines with Advanced Missile-Launchers TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior commander of the Iranian Army's naval force announced on Sunday that the country plans to equip its submarines and other underwater vessels with home-made missile-launching systems. Due to submarines' limitations for firing torpedoes, "we have decided to equip our submarines with missile-launching systems, which of course needs a highly complicated technology and know-how," Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Army Rear Admiral Farhad Amiri told FNA. "To fire a missile from a submarine, the target and missile-launch specifications should be sent to the submarine very fast, and this communication...

Submarine delay could cost Australia's defences: report By Sarah Dingle Posted Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:39am AEST Australia is facing serious naval capability problems unless it can get its new generation of submarines operational within the next decade, according to a study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Australia is set to decommission its six existing Collins class submarines in 2026 and the Government says a new fleet of 12 submarines built in Adelaide will take their place. The report says it will take at least 15 years to build the new fleet and the Navy could be caught short...

Pakistan adding submarine muscle while India hems and haws Rajat Pandit, TNN | Apr 11, 2011, 02.01am IST NEW DELHI: Even as India dithers in even finalizing its new submarine programme called " Project-75 India", Pakistan has moved swiftly to seal a deal with China to acquire six advanced submarines equipped with crucial air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems. Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to surface or snorkel every few days to get oxygen to recharge their batteries. But those fitted with AIP can stay submerged for much longer periods to significantly boost their stealth and combat capabilities, somewhat narrowing the gap with...

Thailand reported near submarine deal with Germany Mar 28, 2011, 3:56 GMT Bangkok - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has approved a plan for the Royal Thai Navy to purchase six secondhand submarines from Germany for 7.7 billion baht (257 million dollars), a newspaper reported Monday. The U-206 Class subs, which are intended for missions in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, would constitute Thailand's first submarine fleet, to be commanded by Rear Admiral Suriya Pornsuriya, the Bangkok Post said. The Thai navy has had submarines on its wish list for many years. It commissioned its first aircraft...

Pak plans to acquire 6 submarines from China After inducting advance fighter jets from China, Pakistan plans to buy six state-of-the-art submarines from the neighbouring country in a bid to boost its under-sea warfare capabilities. Islamabad is planning to buy six submarines outright with options of joint development of conventional submarines with China, The Express Tribune reported. The newspaper did not mention the class of submarines being sought by Pakistan saying merely that Islamabad wanted advanced under-sea vessels with air independent propulsion (AIP) system, which would give them capabilities to stay submerged longer and operate noiselessly. The Defence Ministry has...

Nuclear or not, we'll need prefab subs Brendan Nicholson, Defence editor From: The Australian February 09, 2011 12:00AM PERHAPS it was Kevin Rudd's most impossible dream - a submarine fleet to face down China. But while the idea of building 12 of our own big boats is still government policy, experts argue the task is beyond us. One solution canvassed this week is to go nuclear. The question is whether this would exchange one set of problems for another. The centrepiece of the 2009 defence white paper was a fleet of 12 new submarines, capable of patrolling off north Asia...

Taiwan goes to sea in steel coffins By Jens Kastner TAIPEI - To score against his domestic political opponents, gain leverage in negotiations with Beijing, and assure Washington that his country remains committed to defending itself, Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou presents himself as a commander-in-chief who insists on a military with the highest standards. Yet despite the appeal Ma's style has to the general audience, a glimpse behind the scenes of Taiwan military affairs sometimes reveals neglect that on the daily basis puts Taiwanese servicemen and women's lives at risk. Arguably the most hair-raising examples of this are the island's...

Taiwan seeks to buy F-16 fighters, submarines from the US Jan 25, 2011, 4:24 GMT Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday renewed a request to buy F-16 fighters and diesel submarines from the United States for self-defence. Ma made the call while receiving a US envoy who arrived to brief Taipei on Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit to the United States. 'For a long time, our people have been concerned about the tip of the military balance across the Taiwan Strait. So in recent years, we have been hoping to acquire the F-16 C/Ds and diesel submarines,'...

New-gen submarines: Pakistan steals a march on India Signs deal with China to co-produce six subs with the technology that India wants These could tilt balance in favour of the Pak Navy in Arabian Sea Ajay Banerjee/TNS New Delhi, January 20 Even as India has announced its intent to have new generation diesel-electric submarines, Pakistan has gone ahead and signed a deal with long-standing ally China to produce submarines with the same technology that India wants. The Pakistan Navy and China’s Ship Building Corporation signed a deal that got the seal of finality during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen...

Submarine situation dire: analyst By Hsu Shao-hsuan / Staff Reporter Mon, Jan 17, 2011 - Page 3 Amid the lack of consensus on whether to procure or develop submarines, the navy’s lagging capabilities have become increasingly severe, a military analyst said yesterday. Jyh-Perng Wang(王志鵬), associate researcher at the Association for Managing Defense and Strategies, said the nation’s Hailung-class Sea Dragon and World War II-era Guppy-class submarines were overburdened with numerous drills and battle missions, spending as much as 27 days per month at sea. The two Guppy-class are now used solely for training, -leaving only two Hailung-class subs for actual...

Loan salvages Turkish submarine deal with Germany Wednesday, January 12, 2011 ÜMİT ENGİNSOY ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News A major loan deal between German banks and the Turkish Treasury has rescued a multibillion-dollar submarine contract between the Turkish state and German shipyard Howaldswerke Deutsche Werft, or HDW. Turkish officials and HDW had long been in tough negotiations over the terms of finance for the submarine deal, and some industry sources had expected a collapse of talks as they dragged for several months. Still the Turkish Treasury announced on the last day of 2010 that a financing deal finally had been...

Forecast International Projects $106+ Billion Submarine Market British, U.S. navies are evaluating successors to their existing SSBNs. 111 submarines expected to be produced from 2011 to 2020 10:05 GMT, January 11, 2011 NEWTOWN, Conn. | Forecast International’s “The Market for Submarines” analysis projects that 111 submarines worth $106.7 billion will be produced from 2011-2020. The average value of these submarines will be $960 million, an indicator of the growing complexity of the modern submarine and the increasing use of air-independent propulsion, both of which add substantially to the cost of diesel-electric boats. “Over the long term, constant shifts in the...

Navy Readies for its New Submarines by Gil Ronen The Israel Navy is making advanced preparations to absorb two new German-made Dolphin-class submarines, IDF journal Bamachaneh reported in its latest issue. The number of soldiers selected for submarine warfare has grown by 30% in the latest IDF recruitment batches, in order to man the additional submarines. The Navy currently has three submarines, also of the Dolphin class, so the addition of two subs means that the force is growing 66% bigger. "We are in mid-process and are slowly adding more crews to be trained for service in the submarines," explained...

Kilos and Klubs, spiders and flies By Ed Stephens Jr. Special to the Saipan Tribune We’re an increasingly important square on the west Pacific chessboard, though a modern chessboard would dispense with rooks and knights and would have submarines and missiles instead. Hey, that might be easier, since I never understood the knights with their hinky L-hook maneuvers. So let’s look at submarines. Why not? Everybody else is. And some are kicking the tires and cutting checks. If you doubt that our Asia-Pacific neighborhood is in a serious military growth mode, then consider that even tiny and poor Vietnam, which...

Indian Navy Denies Seeking Three More Scorpenes Dec 29, 2010 By Neelam Mathews mathews.neelam@gmail.com NEW DELHI The Indian navy has denied it is looking at a follow-on order for three additional Scorpene submarines, despite a statement from an industry official to the contrary. India ordered six Scorpene diesel-electric attack submarines under the Indian navy’s project dubbed P75. The subs are being assembled by a joint venture between French shipbuilder DCNS and the Mumbai shipyard Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL). Patrick Boissier, chairman and CEO of DCNS, who was a part of the delegation accompanying French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his recent...

Taiwan and Project Diving Dragon Written by Jens Kastner Tuesday, 14 December 2010 Taiwan's Navy: All dressed up and nowhere to go No running silent, no running deep for Taiwan's navy It was a report that sounded bizarre on its face: A secret Taiwan navy delegation visits Russia under the cover of a commercial delegation, ostensibly to buy icebreakers but actually to try to acquire diesel submarines. The story, in the Chinese-language Next Magazine, was immediately denied by the Taiwanese military with two successive press conferences, and the odds are very long that the Russians would antagonize Beijing by selling...