TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is likely to obtain imported components for its indigenous submarine program, including battlefield integration systems and digital sonar equipment in January at the earliest, reports said Wednesday (Dec. 2).

Supplies for submarine construction have been labeled red if they are unable to be developed domestically, yellow if they are difficult to obtain but manufacturable in Taiwan, and green if they can easily be developed in the country.

The United States has already approved the export of two ‘red-label’ systems involving battlefield integration and digital sonar technology, with military officials predicting an early 2021 delivery date, CNA reported.

The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), which is overseeing the submarine project in partnership with the Taiwanese Navy and CSBC Corporation, went further and named January as the date for the delivery.

NCSIST officials made the statements at the Legislative Yuan, which failed to agree on cuts for the NT$10.5 billion (US$368.79 million) submarine budget listed for 2021.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended the commencement ceremony for Taiwan’s first self-developed submarine at CSBC’s Kaohsiung City shipyard on Nov. 24. Sea trials for the vessel are expected to take place in 2025.