TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s domestically-built Narwhal submarine is now in the final stages of Harbor Acceptance Testing (HAT), a source familiar with the matter has said.
CSBC Corporation's floating dock No. 8 was spotted in front of its shipyard in Kaohsiung Port ready to conduct an inclining test, which is related to HAT, CNA reported. According to the source, the Narwhal is expected to be moved from CSBC Corporation’s shipyard to the floating dock on Feb. 27, and then later transported to Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation’s dry dock.
The submarine was unveiled in Kaohsiung on Sept. 28, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) presiding over the special ceremony. After HAT, it will undergo sea acceptance testing before being handed over to the Navy for operational evaluation, which includes torpedo launches and system verifications.
Once it passes all tests, it will be commissioned and formally deployed. The Narwhal is a diesel-electric submarine that can be armed with MK-48 torpedoes, posing a threat to Chinese naval forces in the event of a Taiwan Strait conflict.
