Navy raises flag on Vietnam's 6th submarine

On the morning of February 28, the Navy solemnly held a national flag-raising ceremony for Submarines HQ-186 Da Nang and HQ-187 Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

Attending the submarine flag-raising ceremony were Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, leaders of the Vietnam People's Army, the Navy, ministries, central and local agencies, and representatives of military units.

With the flag-raising ceremony of the two submarines, Vietnam now has 6 modern submarines. This event also marks an important historical milestone in the modernization process, enhancing combat capabilities as well as the power to protect the sovereignty of the sea, islands and continental shelf of the Fatherland; and raising the prestige of the Vietnam Navy.

Da Nang submarine with registration number HQ-186 before the flag-raising ceremony. Photo: An Binh.

Previously, on the morning of January 20, the Rolldock Storm transport ship (Netherlands) brought the Kilo submarine HQ-187 Ba Ria - Vung Tau back to Cam Ranh Bay (Khanh Hoa), after a journey of more than 41 days, since leaving the port of Saint Petersburg (Russia).

The HQ-187 Ba Ria - Vung Tau submarine is the last of the batch of 6 Varshavyanka 636.1 (Kilo) class submarines that Vietnam ordered from Russia, under a contract signed on December 15, 2009. The steel was cut on May 28, 2014, and launched on September 28, 2015.

Missile ship squadron during the flag-raising ceremony. Photo: An Binh.

Like the previous submarines, after arriving at Cam Ranh Bay, experts will conduct technical operations for the Ba Ria - Vung Tau submarine to leave the Rolldock Storm transport ship and enter Cam Ranh military port. After that, the HQ-187 Ba Ria - Vung Tau submarine will join the formation with the Kilo-class submarines that arrived earlier.

On December 31, 2013, the first Kilo submarine to arrive in Vietnam was HQ-182 Hanoi. Next were HQ-183 Ho Chi Minh City (March 2014), HQ-184 Hai Phong (January 28, 2015), HQ-185 Khanh Hoa (June 2015) and HQ-186 Da Nang (February 2016).

Officers prepare for the submarine flag-raising ceremony at Cam Ranh military port. Photo: An Binh.

The Kilo class is the NATO designation for large diesel-electric submarines built by Russia. The official Russian designation for this class of submarines is Project 636. The original version of these submarines was Project 877 Paltus (Turbot).

The Kilo 636 submarine is designed to destroy enemy submarines, surface ships and watercraft. The Kilo 636 can operate independently or according to different mission requirements. The ship operates very quietly and is nicknamed the "Black Hole of the Ocean" because of its ability to "disappear".

According to Kienthuc.vn