On the first day of Euronaval 2020, the new CEO of Naval Group –Pierre-Eric Pommellet– invited the press to a conference call. It was the opportunity to exchange on the progress of naval programs in France and abroad. During the event, Pierre-Eric Pommellet highlighted "intense discussions" with the Philippines concerning the sale of submarines.
According to Pierre-Eric Pommellet, Naval Group CEO. “Another country were we’ve been very active during the Covid-19 crisis is the Philippines. The Philippines is looking for submarines to increase their naval capacities and create a new submarine force. We’ve kept in close touch with the Philippines authorities during the crisis. We’ll see in the next weeks if this project moves forward. But of course, here again, Naval Group can demonstrate –we’ve done it in Brazil, in India, we’re doing it in Australia– the capacity to transfer production”
There have been rumours of a Philippine interest for the French Scorpène submarine for about a year now. Manila is indeed interested in developing its own submarine forces. A small force of conventional submarines could then be a very efficient deterrence force against the other navies in the area.
For a few years now, the Philippine Navy has to deal with historical submarine forces that are increasing their submarine fleet. as well as new submarine operators in South East Asia. In order to protect its interests in South China Sea, the Philippine Navy is actively looking for two new generation submarines.
In this respect, the French designed Scorpène submarine appears to be the most serious contender, and the preferred solution for the Philippine Navy. The type is already operational in Malaysia and in India, where six Scorpène were locally built. But rumours had it that Russian and South Korean offers were also presented to the Philippine authorities. South Korean defense companies are already strategic suppliers of the Philippine Navy.
This is coming from www.navalnews.com.
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