Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC Corporation is scheduled to complete work on the pressure hull of the country's first indigenously designed submarine by the end of June 2022.
The update was provided in a report published by the country's Executive Yuan in late January 2022.
CSBC and National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology were awarded a contract to design and construct Taiwan's first indigenously developed submarine in 2017. The diesel-electric vessel was laid down in November 2021.
The boat is scheduled for completion in 2024, with delivery scheduled for 2025.
The Republic of China Navy (RoCN) operates a fleet of two Dutch-built Hai Lung (Sea Dragon)-class boats that were commissioned in 1987 and 1988 respectively, and two Second World War-era Guppy II/Hai Shih (Sea Lion)-class boats that were supplied by the US.
Taipei is acquiring a fleet of eight new indigenously built submarines to fulfil the country's security requirements and has allocated a special budget of TWD240 billion (USD8.6 billion) over the next five years to partially fund this ambition.
The special budget will be in addition to annual defence budget allocations.
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