South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean formally pitched to Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. its bid to build KSS-III PN submarines for the Philippine Navy.
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Hanwha Ocean executives met with Mr. Marcos Jr. on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, to discuss the company’s offer.
As part of its proposal, Hanwha Ocean offered to construct a submarine base, establish a local maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) center, and provide comprehensive training for Filipino naval operators, maintainers, and commanders using advanced simulators and systems.
“Executives of Hanwha Ocean informed the President of their plans for the deployment of KSS-III PN submarines equipped with modern sonar and combat systems and lithium-ion batteries for longer underwater endurance, along with technology transfer and partnerships with local industries to advance the Philippines’ self-reliant defense capability,” the PCO said.
The KSS-III PN is derived from the Republic of Korea Navy’s KSS-III Batch II submarine class, with a displacement of approximately 2,800 tons. Hanwha Ocean had previously presented the KSS-III PN and Ocean 1400 PN models to the Philippine Navy for evaluation.
The Philippines remains among the few countries in the region without a submarine fleet, a gap that underscores the urgency of its modernization drive. Hanwha faces stiff competition from other global defense contractors, including France’s Naval Group with its Scorpène-class submarines, Spain’s Navantia with the S-80PN, and a joint bid by Italy’s Fincantieri and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) offering the Type U212 NFS (Near Future Submarine).
Earlier this year, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the country aims to acquire at least two submarines as part of its defense modernization program.
“It’s a dream for us to get at least two submarines,” Brawner said. “We are an archipelago, so we need this kind of capability because it’s really difficult to defend the entire archipelago without submarines.”
The Philippine government has committed to allocate around ₱2 trillion (approximately US$35 billion) over the next decade to strengthen its military capabilities amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
Check out Naval News’ interview with Hanwha Ocean on the KSS-III PN during ADAS 2024:
