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Thyssen Nordseewerke, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), Germany,
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Naval Group, France (cooperation with Spain),
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Fincantieri SpA, Italy (building German design),
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•
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Hellenic Ship Yard, Greece (building German design),
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•
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Admiralty Shipyard, St. Petersburg, Russia,
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•
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Navantia, Spain (cooperation with France),
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Kockums, Sweden,
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•
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Gölcük Naval Shipyard in Turkey (controversially building German design), and
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BAE Systems Submarine, UK.
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In the period 2013-2032 just over 300 submarines are globally constructed, planned, and projected. That is an average of fifteen a year, included those for China, Japan, Russia and the US who are all building them domestically. It is clear that the market is relatively small for so many suppliers.
Domestic sub
However,
the Netherlands seems on a path to reestablish its own capacity.
Dutch shipbuilder Damen established contacts with SAAB in Sweden to
cooperate on this.
Cost estimates for the project run towards € 4 billion. To compare,
the cost of the submarines planned by Norway and Germany are roughlyestimated at € 280-560 million each.
Catch-22
This
much cheaper submarine project will force the Netherlands government
to decide how to continue. The Netherlands is successful on the
export market in over twenty countries worldwide with small and
frigate size surface vessels and with Damen SYfacilities.
Now the shipbuilder wants to add submarines to its portfolio. But it
also wants to build new surface vessels for the German navy.
Deal
Now
here's the deal: During a recent meeting between German and Dutch
national armament directors and defence industry representatives the
Germans have most probably proposed that Damen takes the lead in the
German frigate program and that in return the Dutch will buy Germansubmarines. The design will be done by Damen, but the ships will be built inHamburg and jobs are thus secured for Germany.70 Percent of the revenues stay in
Germany.
For Germany, an additional advantage will be that this will weaken
the position of SAAB on the submarine market.
European rationale
DefenseNews cites officials who say that: “seeking
avenues to bring the Netherlands in alignment with the German-Dutch
sub buy may make sense in the spirit of coordinating such
acquisitions Europe-wide.” So it will be in line with an European arm isndustry consolidation
policy. Moreover
it fits into the German policy which declared submarines to be a key
field for German naval industry which leaves surface vessels for
import from European or global producers.
If this is
the deal to be made, the dream of Dutch subsurface vessel production
will burst twofold: the German submarine is not of the expeditionary
size of the Dutch navy ambition
and there will be no new 'made in Holland' submarine
construction capacity build - almost from scratch.
Lobby
But
the good news for the armed forces is that the MoD spares billions on
its acquisitions. His gives new opportunities to Damen which is
already lobbying for more naval orders
to direct the saved billions of euro's to the shipbuilder for new
projects.
Caveat
The
current German Norwegian future submarine program is based on the
type-212CD-class submarine, developed jointly between Italy and
Germany. Norway already stated that new participants have to be quick
because the door is closing for adaptations on the configuration.
214-class
As
Germany offers a bigger variant for the export market the knowledge
to expand the boats already exists.
Recently India bought this 214-class export version of the 212-class,
without the un-magnetic steel hull, but with greater diving depth
capabilities. The 214 is already in use with South Korea, Greece,
Portugal and Turkey and even bigger version is sold to Israël.
Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems advertised
it as a
capable boat equipped to undertake missions ranging from operations
in littoral waters to ocean-going patrols. It can be used for
anti-surface ship and anti-submarine operations, intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance tasks and Special Forces operations.
Also on SOF the Dutch seem to aim for more robust capabilities.
Proliferation
The fact
which is often forgotten in the stories on the German U-boot export
success is that the ships are among the most dangerous weapon systems
around. Submarine proliferation is seen as a serious threat to
security by Western Ministries of Defence. Torpedo's can be used to
covertly sink vessels, but the torpedo tubes probably will be more
often used to bring Special Forces ashore for secret missions. Both
the 212 and 214-class are capable of doing such operations.
Market parties
Subs
proliferation is not limited to Europe. French and Spain jointly exported its latest diesel boats
to Brazil, Malaysia, India and Chile and the Naval Group develops a
diesel electric submarine for Australia. Russian submarines are
present in the fleets of a number of countries from China to
Iran. China is the newcomer and exported recently to Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Thailand.
Creating even more competition on that market, involving enormous
government expenditures and in the advance of narrow defined national
industrial and military interest, only endangers an already volatile
world.
Government
licenses for Dutch Sea Dragon submarine exports, Taiwan, 2017
|
||
Date
of issue
|
Description
|
waarde
(€)
|
11-01-17
|
Parts
for radar and C3 systems
|
718.474
|
13-01-17
|
Parts
for radar and C3 systems
|
2.299.640
|
02-02-17
|
Part
of a periscope of a Sea Dragon submarine
|
272.499
|
21-04-17
|
Parts
for Sea Dragon submarines
|
8.920.000
|
24-05-17
|
Technology
for Sea Dragon Project
|
8.000.000
|
27-09-17
|
Technologie
for Sea Dragon submarines
|
11.694.500
|
09-10-17
|
Parts
for Sea Dragon submarines
|
99.450
|
27-11-17
|
Parts
for Sea Dragon submarines
|
15.848
|
Source:
Dutch Government https://bit.ly/2qjMgDn
|
32.020.411
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