Korea eyes submarine deal with Canada

RackMaster

Nasty-Dirty-Canuck
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If this deal goes through, it's huge. We should have never bought the boats from the Brits and have spent more time in dry dock than service.
A planned summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is prompting speculation over a potential submarine deal between Korea and Canada as Ottawa plans to replace its aging submarines. Yoon and Trudeau will sit down with each other Wednesday in Seoul to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to visit Korea in nine years. During their summit, the leaders are expected to discuss the two countries' cooperation in national defense, including Canada's submarine replacement program. Multiple Canadian news outlets have reported that the Royal Canadian Navy is urging the government to purchase up to 12 new conventionally-powered attack submarines to replace its aging Victoria-class diesel submarines. Military analysts note that Korea's KSS-III submarines, Japan's Taigei-class submarines and Spain's S-80 Plus class submarines are the perfect fit for the replacement program. Timothy Choi, a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and Chris Spedding, a fellow at British American Security Information Council, wrote in their report for Starshell, a magazine issued by the Naval Association of Canada, "The KSS-III is one of the few operational conventionally-powered crewed submarines (SSK) designed to carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the Taigei incorporates lithium-ion batteries in place of traditional lead-acid batteries, and the S-80 Plus is the largest European SSK." From right, Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, Foreign Minister Park Jin, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne pose during their inaugural economy and security meeting, called a two plus two meeting, at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap From right, Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, Foreign Minister Park Jin, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne pose during their inaugural economy and security meeting, called a two plus two meeting, at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap The KSS-III submarine, also called the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho-class submarine, is a diesel-electric propelled attack submarine with a displacement of 3,000 tons. In the first phase of the three-phased KSS-III program, there are three submarines: ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, ROKS Ahn Mu and ROKS Shin Chae-ho. The ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho and ROKS Ahn Mu have already been commissioned in 2019 and 2023 respectively, while the Shin Chae-ho is scheduled to be delivered in 2023. Against this backdrop, Canadian military officials reportedly visited the shipyards of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Geoje and Ulsan respectively on May 10 and 11. The two shipbuilders jointly developed and manufactured the KSS-III submarines. Korea believes the KSS-III submarine has an advantage over its Japanese and Spanish rivals, because Japan has no experience exporting its submarines to other countries, while the S-80 Plus suffered various problems, such as weight issues, during its development process. Also raising hope for Seoul is Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, an advocate of the replacement program, is familiar with the Korean weapons system, given his history of serving in the country as deputy commander of the United Nations Command. He was the first non-American to serve in the post If signed, the deal will likely be worth more than 60 trillion won ($44.9 billion). The submarine itself costs around 1 to 2 trillion won, but the amount increases when maintenance costs are added. Canadian media outlets are reporting that Ottawa will spend up to 60 billion Canadian dollars ($44.54 billion) for its submarine replacement program. President Yoon has been promoting the nation's arms exports as one of Korea's drivers of economic growth, making aggressive sales pitches during his meeting with leaders abroad. According to data from Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Korea's defense exports reached $17 billion last year, more than doubling the $7 billion figure from 2021.

Korea eyes submarine deal with Canada
 
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