Vietnam manufactures special equipment to repair submarines itself

Successfully manufactured new equipment

According to QPVN television, the main source of energy when diving underwater for Kilo submarines comes from a large capacity battery system located in two separate compartments on the ship.

When designing, the manufacturer built a special system to support the operator to monitor and operate the two battery chambers above. That is the SKDAB (СКДАБ) system, a system to check and predict battery failures.

However, because manufacturers are always looking to improve electronic systems and electronic equipment on ships in the direction of modernization and high integration, it causes difficulties in technical assurance work.

A typical initiative has contributed to increasing the stability and durability of technical equipment, saving time and effort of soldiers, becoming a powerful assistant in checking and detecting failures in software and hardware of the SKĐAB system, thereby providing solutions to ensure smooth operation of the system.

That is the "Handheld device for testing batteries and SKDAB systems on Kilo-636 submarines" of the Institute of Information Technology (IT Institute) under the Institute of Military Science and Technology (IAST).

Major Pham Van Hau, Researcher of Technical Assurance Department, Institute of Information Technology, Institute of Military Science and Technology, Project Manager, said that to have a complete product, it is necessary to combine survey of the process of operation and maintenance with the nature of the system.

When the equipment was not available, the surveyor had to go down to the battery cellar, remove it, and bring it back to the station for inspection. But when the equipment was available, it could be taken directly to the ship, installed, and connected to the equipment.

The domestic product will read the parameters from the object and display them, thereby giving warnings about the indicators exceeding the threshold (insulation resistance, acid level, temperature, battery voltage) or what is going wrong. From there, the inspector can handle it on the spot, replace it on the ship or take appropriate measures, without having to bring it to the inspection station.

Self-maintenance of submarines

Not only successfully producing special equipment to diagnose submarines, according to images recently posted by the Navy Newspaper, Factory X52 (Navy Technical Department) has been able to bring submarines in for maintenance and repair according to regulations.

X52 is a key project of the Ministry of National Defense to build one of the largest shipyards in the entire army. After nearly 2 years of implementation, this program is nearing completion.

While waiting for the completion of the facilities, Factory X52 has presided over the mobile repair and warranty completion of one submarine and technical maintenance of many other submarines at the unit. This is a premise for superiors to trust and assign more difficult tasks.

The goal set for X52 is that by 2019, submarines can be brought in for maintenance and repair according to manufacturer regulations right at the factory, instead of mobile repairs at the unit's port, which is difficult to ensure all optimal conditions.

However, based on the latest photo posted by the Vietnam Navy Newspaper, the project's completion progress seems to have exceeded expectations, as a submarine has entered Factory X52 to conduct technical inspection and maintenance.

Thus, the nearest goal of Factory X52 is to confidently repair submarine items that require complexity, precision and high level of expertise. This has been overcome, and in the near future, the unit will move forward to new horizons.

To do this, technical experts are selected and sent for training at home and abroad. Technological and technical staff with experience in designing, researching, building and repairing ships are not afraid to take on difficult tasks.

Not only having the task of ensuring submarine technology, Vietnam National Defense Television also informed that the future of X52 must be one of the largest shipyards in the entire army, this is a very noteworthy sign.

Reality also shows that besides the role of ensuring technical support for submarines, many classes of surface warships as well as transport ships are also entering Factory X52 for major repairs, demonstrating the unit's versatility.

Hopefully in the near future, Factory X52 will produce warships, both surface ships and submarines, with large displacement and modern weapons and equipment to firmly protect the country's sovereignty at sea.