DCN,
The first of two Scorpene-type submarines ordered by the Malaysian Navy has been officially named the Tunku Abdul Rahman at DCNS's Cherbourg shipyard by Malaysian Minister for Defence Najib Tun Razak at a ceremony attended by Malaysian and French officials.
Today's ceremony is an important milestone in the execution of the contract signed on 5 June 2002 by the Malaysian government and DCNS as it marks the completion of the construction phase. In a few weeks' time, after completing equipment quay-side testing, the boat will be ready to start its sea trials. The Tunku Abdul Rahman is scheduled to be handed over to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) in January 2009 and the second boat at the end of 2009.
With an endurance of 45 days and a displacement of 1,550 tonnes for a length overall of 67.5 metres, these Scorpene submarines will be manned by Malaysian crews of just 31. Crew training is on schedule to enable the RMN to provide complete crews from delivery.
This programme demonstrates DCNS's know-how as a leading prime contractor for sophisticated warship programmes. With ten units ordered (two for Chile, two for Malaysia and six for India), Scorpene is now an international benchmark in SSK design.
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At the DCN Shipyard at Cherbourg, France, in October 2003, a Scorpene-type submarine under construction.
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The Scorpene was designed by DCNS and developed jointly by DCNS and Spanish naval shipbuilder Navantia. Each boat is built partly in France and partly in Spain according to the same industrial process. Benefiting from the latest innovations developed for other programmes, the design features a range of advanced technologies, particularly in hydrodynamics, acoustic discretion and automation. The modular Scorpene design can be readily tailored to each client navy's specific mission profiles and requirements.
Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 1903 – 6 December 1990), also known as Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) and Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia), was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 and Malaysia's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957 until he retired from public life in 1970.
