Royal Canadian Navy Discussions and updates

[John Fedup]

That might well be what the ROKN CNO believes, but I tend to suspect it would take quite a bit longer as well as requiring more outside help.

One needs to remember that S. Korea first built a sub in the early 90's, and the KSS-III which has subs under construction is the first domestic S. Korean conventional sub design. As we have seen with Spain's S-80 design, it is easy to screw up a design even for experienced yards.

When one then factors in the need to design an adequate SSN reactor and then fit that into a sub design... Unless S. Korea has been quietly working on a SSN reactor & design for years, then there is most likely years of work before a domestic S. Korean SSN would launch.

Now the US and UK naval construction might not be the fastest, both nations have decades of experience designing and building SSN's, including the reactors. If one looks at when development work began on RN or USN SSN's, it normally takes several years to a decade between design work being initiated and the start of construction. I would expect that S. Korea will also require similar times or even greater due to a lack of prior experience with fitting and integrating a reactor.

I suspect SKorea has been working on a SSN design for years given the threat in the North. Japan may be doing the same, another incentive for SKorea.

 

[Todjaeger]

I suspect SKorea has been working on a SSN design for years given the threat in the North. Japan may be doing the same, another incentive for SKorea.

Quite possibly though I think Japan's greater experience designing and building subs would make a near-term appearance of Japanese SSN's more likely.

Also given the location of perceived threats to S. Korea, there might not have been as much drive towards SSN's when compared to the US or UK.

In that regards it would also go some way to explaining why Japan has not developed one yet, despite having the industrial elements needed to do so for decades.