DCNS delivers Royal Malaysian Navy's first-ever submarine

The Royal Malaysian Navy took formal delivery of its first ever submarine, the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, French designed and built Scorpene class SSK vessel. The guests of honour at the official handing over ceremony in the city of Toulon included Royal Malaysian Navy chief of staff Admiral Dato' Sri Aziz Hj Jaafar.

KD Tunku Abdul Rahman is the first of two Scorpene submarines ordered by Malaysia in June 2002. The submarine is jointly constructed by DCNS and Spanish naval shipbuilder Navantia.

The Malaysian contract also calls for associated logistics and training.

This KD Tunku Abdul Rahman completed final sea trials in late December 2008, demonstrating its remarkable operational and combat system capabilities. The trials included successful firings of Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes and missiles.

KD Tunku Abdul Rahman is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia sometime in the second half of 2009. The second in the series, KD Tun Razak, is scheduled for delivery in late 2009.

Manned by crews of just 31, the boats offer an endurance of 45 days. The subs have a displacement of 1,550 tonnes and an overall length of 67.5 metres.

The Scorpene is state-of-the-art in terms of submarine design and construction and offers the latest technologies developed for nuclear-powered submarines operated by the French Navy - particularly in terms of noise suppression and combat system performance.

Excellent endurance makes the Scorpene one of the few medium-displacement designs suitable for extended ocean patrol duties. The modular design can also be readily tailored to each customer's specific mission profiles and other requirements.

DCNS has won orders for ten units to date - two for Chile, two for Malaysia and six for India.