Philippines sees French submarine offer fit for their requirements

A Scorpene-class submarine of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A derivative of this the type is being considered by the Philippine Navy. Photo c/o LIMA website.

The chief of the Philippine Navy (PN) Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad confirmed to local media that the submarine offer made by France is the best fit to their requirements.

This was after he also confirmed in a legislative hearing on defense budget that they are interested in France's submarine offer and is looking to have its first submarines delivered to the PN by 2027.

France is one of the countries that offered to sell submarines and development the submarine capability of the PN. Other countries with similar offers include Russia, South Korea, and Germany.

In an interview by APDJ with Filipino defense analyst Max Montero of MaxDefense Philippines, he confirmed that France's Naval Group has submitted one of the most comprehensive offers to the Philippine Navy that includes financing through soft loan with assistance of the French government,  supply and delivery of new Scorpene-class diesel-electric submarines, development of technical competency and experience of Philippine Navy crew and officers, design and development of submarine basing, support and training facilities, and logistics support.

Similar offers were said to have been offered by South Korea, but the PN's technical teams has rated the French offer higher in their evaluations. According to Mr. Montero, "the point that the (Vice Adm.) Empedrad already confirmed that the French offer fits their requirement only means that they have evaluated all offers and has rated them accordingly, short of an official confirmation of selection".

The Philippine Navy is one of the major navies in the ASEAN region without submarines. Regional peers like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam all operate submarines, while Thailand and Myanmar are on the way of having one or more in the near future.

Scorpene-class is Naval Group's foremost diesel-electric attack submarine that is offered for export, with Malaysia, India, Brazil Chile only among those that operate the type.


[1] Philippine News Agency
[2] MaxDefense Philippines
[3] Manila Bulletin