Author: Blade Totoro
According to a recent report by the Global Network, Indonesia's national shipyard demonstrated for the first time the 1400-ton conventional submarine it built in Surabaya, Indonesia. The domestic submarine built by Indonesia this time is actually independently built by Indonesia under the guidance of South Korea's Daewoo Shipyard, and the model is DSME1400, which is an export version of the "Jang Baogao" class submarine built by South Korea Daewoo Shipbuilding for its navy. In the end, South Korea's "Jang Baogao" class submarine is actually an export version of the German Type 209 submarine.
Submarines have always been an important indicator of the comprehensive strength of industry, because the industrial technology required for submarines is very complex and high-end. Imagine that although the submarine is basically only a sealed cylinder, this cylinder must remain absolutely sealed and ensure that there is no leakage at a depth of more than 300 meters under the sea, which is a technical difficulty that can only be achieved by a few countries even today.
Germany is one of the world's top conventional submarine research and development countries, during The Second World War, German submarines almost cut off the entire British shipping route. After the end of World War II, Germany's conventional submarines still maintained the highest level in the Western camp, especially the German-developed Type 209 submarine, which sold well in dozens of countries around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, including South Korea. South Korea officially introduced the German Type 209 submarine in 1993 and named it the "Jang Baogao" class. Today, Indonesia's self-built DSME1400 submarine is an export version of South Korea's Zhang Baogao-class submarines - from Germany to South Korea to Indonesia, the same submarine has been transferred to three countries, which can be described as a tortuous road.
For Indonesia, because Indonesia is known as the "Country of a Thousand Islands", its national territory includes a total of more than 13,000 islands, which is a typical archipelagic country, so Indonesia has always attached great importance to the development of the navy, and as a third world country, submarines are undoubtedly the best weapons to control the sea, so Indonesia has been seeking advanced conventional submarines, and is seeking the industrial capability of independently building submarines. The cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea, using the technology transfer of South Korea's Daewoo shipbuilding, has the ability to independently build submarines, which is an important symbol of the improvement of Indonesia's naval strength and is of strategic significance to Indonesia.
On the map, Indonesia is sandwiched between the South China Sea and Australia, and borders the Strait of Malacca to the west, and its strategic position is very important. Submarines help to assist the Indonesian Navy in guarding strategic locations such as the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Maluku, and the Bismarck Sea, effectively preventing warships from other countries from bursting into Indonesian waters.
At present, a submarine fever is emerging throughout Southeast Asia: Vietnam has purchased 6 Russian-made Kilo-class submarines, Singapore is equipped with Swedish Water Monster-class submarines, and Thailand has purchased Chinese-made S-26T conventional submarines. South Korea's Jang Baogao-class submarine, as the Korean version of the German Type 209 submarine, has a displacement of about 1400 tons, which is a medium-sized submarine with relatively good performance.
Equipped with the DSME1400 submarine, the Indonesian navy can balance the Australian navy to the south, and to the north, it can balance countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, effectively safeguarding its maritime interests. However, due to the age of the design, the DSME1400 submarine is not an AIP submarine, but a traditional conventional power submarine. Therefore, compared with S-26T submarines such as Thailand and Australia's "Shortfin Squid" class submarines, because there is no AIP system installed, it needs to be constantly floated and charged, and it cannot be compared with AIP submarines in terms of stealth performance. However, for Indonesia, due to the country's large number of islands, its submarines can get effective cover from the air force, so floating charging is not unacceptable to Indonesia.
With the continuous development of the armament forces of Southeast Asian countries, now the South China Sea and its surrounding waters can be described as "submarines everywhere", and China's South China Sea problem is also facing greater problems, as neighboring countries continue to equip and even produce submarines, the maritime combat capabilities of ASEAN countries have been correspondingly enhanced, and for China, to completely solve the South China Sea problem, China's navy will face greater pressure and threats. Therefore, the measures taken by ASEAN countries to enhance their naval forces need our close attention.