Royal Thai Navy may cancel purchase of first Chinese submarine.

According to information published by Gavroche Thailande on April 9, 2022, the Royal Thai Navy will decide at the end of the month if they cancel the buy of the first Chinese Yuan-class (S26T) submarine, due to a German decision to block the exportation of MTU396 diesel engines.
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Keel laying ceremony of the first S26T (Yuan class) submarine (Picture source: Loongnaval)

On July 2, 2015, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) officially selected the Chinese Yuan-class platform (Type 041) to fulfill a requirement for three submarines.

The RTN's acquisition committee had voted unanimously to purchase the submarine, which was designated S26T (Thailand), a modified export version of the Yuan class.

About Yuan-class submarine

The Yuan class submarine is a class of diesel-electric submarine in China's People's Liberation Army Navy. It is China's first AIP-powered submarine and is presumed to be one of the quietest diesel-electric submarine classes in service.

The class inherits the tail design of Type 039 (Song class) with upper and lower rudders and stern planes with a single propeller shaft. A pair of fairwater dive planes are positioned on the sail.

The submarine is equipped with an indigenously developed machinery rafts (shock absorbers) system that helped to reduce the noise levels by over 35 dB. Additionally, the submarine is covered with rubber anti-sonar anechoic tiles to reduce the risk of acoustic detection.

The Yuan class has six 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes. These can be used to launch indigenous torpedoes such as Yu-6 as well as Russian-made torpedoes. It is speculated that it will be equipped with the supersonic YJ-18.

The class of submarines is also believed to be capable of launching YJ-8X (C-80X) series anti-ship missiles. The missile uses inertial + terminal active radar guidance. It carries a 165 kg (364 lb) time-delayed semi-armor-piercing high-explosive warhead, with a maximum range of 80–120 km (50–75 mi) and speed of Mach 0.9.