News Forum - China offers engine substitutes for Thai submarine project with benefits

[Thaiger]

Chinese authorities have committed to meeting three conditions concerning warranty, compensation, and safety if the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) opts for a Chinese-produced engine to replace a German-made one for an S26T Yuan-class submarine being assembled in China, according to Navy commander Adm Choengchai Chomchoengpaet. Following a recent meeting with China’s navy chief and defence …

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[HolyCowCm]

Boy the CCP sure wants to get their dirty little lying nails into Thailand a bit more. The guarantee may be that if anything does happen then they will ship all of these military parts or replacements free via the CCP railroad trap they want to finish building here. Don't trust them. You can probably also think the sub comes complete with CCP tracking and ease dropping devices and maybe even a remote system overide that allows them to steer and fire any armament the sub has onboard. Sounds like a win win situation to me.

[Alavan]

It would have been stupid from Germany to deliver a MTU396 to China.
It is installed in their 212A submarines, very silent, and capable to stay submerged for 3 weeks without even snorkeling. They sailed submerged from Kiel in the Baltic to the Spanish Atlantic coast.

[EdwardV]

Moreover, the navy has negotiated compensation details with the CSOC concerning the engine’s warranty, as well as any delays in the procurement process and alterations to the value of components.

A warranty is only as good as the entity backing it. China is no longer a reliable partner in international trade. The engine breaks and China can't or won't fix it. What happens then? Few countries buy weapon systems from China and for good reason. Cheap is only good if it's also durable, parts are quickly available, and the systems are easy to fix. There is no reason to believe any of those three things apply to Chinese engines. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKeSdPeTDAY

Pick it up at 5:25, but the entire video is worth watching. Let's just say there is a reason the sub was originally spec'd with a German engine.