Yellow submarines

Japan will update its submarine fleet

A Japanese defense official said yesterday that Japan will begin developing a new generation of conventional submarines starting in April 2007. They will be equipped with modern location equipment, they will produce less noise and have greater survivability. in combat conditions. The implementation of the project is planned for ten years. Its approximate cost will exceed $42 million. Already this year, more than $3 million has been allocated from the budget, and research work will be carried out for the first five years. Testing of the experimental model should take place in 2014. The commissioning of the new submarine is scheduled for 2016.

Currently, the Japanese Navy is armed with 16 diesel submarines of the Oyashio, Harushio, and Yushio types. The most reliable in operation are considered to be the Yushio, designed in the early 1970s with technical assistance from the United States. Boats of this series were built at the shipyards of Mitsubishi and Kawasaki. "Yushio" have a navigation autonomy of up to 60 days. Six torpedo tubes are designed to fire guided anti-submarine torpedoes or Japanese-made universal torpedoes. Japan has three Yushio-class submarines in service, and two more are used as training submarines. These boats can launch American Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The construction of nuclear submarines and the possession of nuclear weapons are prohibited by the Japanese constitution.

In a conversation with Vremya Novostei, the former commander of the forces of the north and northeast of Russia, Vice Admiral Valery Dorogin, does not rule out that Japan, having leaked information about the start of the implementation of a new generation of submarines project, took advantage of the situation that developed in the region after Pyongyang’s nuclear test. According to our interlocutor, North Korean nuclear tests and Japan's intention to begin developing a new submarine confirm the beginning of a new round of the arms race in the Far East. “Although submarines are considered offensive weapons, even if there are territorial claims against Russia, Japan’s diesel submarine fleet cannot yet pose a serious threat to us,” the vice admiral believes. The Land of the Rising Sun has unresolved territorial problems with Russia, China and North Korea.

Valery Dorogin noted to VN: “In the current balance of power, the most vulnerable is North Korea, whose submarine fleet consists of outdated Soviet-style diesel submarines. The submarine fleet is also a means of political pressure. It is no coincidence that, against the backdrop of incoming reports about Pyongyang’s preparations for a second nuclear test, military exercises with the participation of US and Japanese naval ships are beginning near the Korean Peninsula.”

Victor VOLODIN