First Scorpene Submarine for Royal Malaysian Navy

Following 90 days of Lorient-based trials, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first DCNS-designed Scorpene submarine for the Royal Malaysian Navy, has now returned to Cherbourg for a post-trials refit.

The shipbuilder’s trials were held in the deep waters of the Bay of Biscay. Some 420 hours of underwater trials demonstrated the boat’s speed, dive endurance, manoeuvrability and stealth in addition to testing its combat system (including sonars and torpedo launch tubes) and safety and rescue systems.

Between now and late September, a DCNS team of 50 in Cherbourg will refit KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and prepare it for final acceptance trials, the last pre-delivery milestone.

The Malaysian government signed a contract with DCNS and Spanish naval shipbuilder Izar (now Navantia) in June 2002 for two Scorpene submarines and associated logistics and training. KD Tunku Abdul Rahman is scheduled for delivery in early 2009 and the second boat a few months later.

The Scorpene was designed by DCNS and developed jointly by DCNS and Navantia. Each boat is built partly in France and partly in Spain according to the same industrial process. The design features a range of advanced technologies — particularly in hydrodynamics, acoustic discretion and automation — drawing on innovations developed for other programmes. The modular Scorpene design can be readily tailored to each client navy’s specific mission profiles and requirements.

The DCNS Group is one of Europe’s leading players on the world market for naval defence systems. To meet customer demands for more comprehensive and integrated systems, DCNS acts as prime contractor for naval shipbuilding, integration and support by combining its own development, marketing and production capabilities with those of selected partners. The DCNS Group employs 13,000 people and generates annual revenues of around EUR 2.8 billion.