So the Germany choice, if that is correct, is it the worst choice of the two? I've heard that some worried that Germany couldn't produce sub quick enough for Canada.
Personal bias - I was pulling for KSS III. However I always said I wouldn't complain about the CD212. Its an amazing piece of technology.
They will produce the sub in the timeframe the contract requires which is IOC 2035. Here on our boards our value matrix's are different than in the Project Office's matrix. We value speed, vertical launch and size. We're very operational focused and value that much more heavily. Its really clear from an RCN perspective that crew generation/training and tech integration will be MUCH easier with the Germans and Norwegians, as everything is NATO already.
Also we don't have all the info, we mostly have Hanwaha advertisements. The German stuff was much less fanfare and not as public.
Another thing to consider.
Most of the Korean industrial offsets are things like H2 truck refueling stations, "I" beam factory, natural gas expansion, torp manufacturing and armoured vehicle manufacturing.
I what I have seen from the German offsets are non-magnetic steel for submarine hulls, fire control systems software development, torpedo manufacturing, sonar investments.
Its seems to me that the government may value the investment into industries that will directly support the submarines instead of things that will help other industries. This is a move away from traditionally Canadian industrial offset mistakes. (Like LM investing in food processing instead of defence industrial jobs.) That is a good thing.
he issue with TKMS was always schedule, given their track record.
Maybe this Government views that as a plus?
The Navy might. Training up crews on and having all the maint parts in place on the Korean offered schedule is a big lift.
But I don't think that was a consideration. If it was we could alway just ask Korea to deliver them on a slower drumbeat. Korea offered them faster as an incentive, they can always deliver on the customers schedule. There also is the fact that Norway or Germany may give us one of their submarines which means we get our first one earlier (they offered). So schedule isn't where this went. It was all about industrial offsets in the end I'm confident.
Ya, it's the time delays and people saying the Korea ones are better technology-with the Germany company being a lot more vague on the details.
No, the German sub is clearly the more high tech of the two. Their AIP is more advanced, their battery tech is pretty much the same, the Germans fire control systems and periscope tech is great (Korean stuff is french basically so probably equivalent). The German submarines are much quieter than the Korean ones as their active and passive sonar defences are better.