Quietly designing military vessels.

"They make... fakes, but we have to make them real," Colonel - Dr. Pham Quang Chien (Director of the Institute of Military Ship Design) joked, adding: "Our team has researched and designed many river and sea vessels and equipment, but the superiors haven't allowed them to be released yet. It's military secret."

The SN-1000 anti-submarine warfare vessel model was designed by the Military Ship Design Institute.

Vietnamese anti-submarine vessels

The HSC-60 multi-purpose troop transport ship (17 tons, maximum speed 40 knots, carrying 22 people) has been equipped for the Navy.

In the traditional exhibition room of the Institute of Military Ship Design, many models of ships and floating vessels manufactured in Vietnam are displayed. Most notable is a model resembling an anti-submarine warfare vessel, equipped with powerful firepower (AK-176 main gun, anti-submarine rockets, anti-submarine torpedoes, anti-aircraft missiles, etc.). Colonel - Dr. Pham Quang Chien introduced: "The SN-1000 anti-submarine warfare vessel was designed by the Institute. This product is part of a Ministry of National Defense- level research and design project on anti-submarine warfare vessels suitable for the maritime and island combat conditions of Vietnam."

In Vietnam, the oldest class of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels currently in service are the Petya-class, manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and commissioned into the Vietnamese Navy in the 1980s. The newest and most modern ASW vessels are the Gepard 3.9, built by Russia on order and delivered to Vietnam in 2011 and 2017… Regardless of their status as "veteran" vessels, their modern weaponry and equipment, or their "young and robust" status with numerous "powerful gadgets," these ASW vessels are still built by foreign countries.

Meanwhile, the SN-1000 anti-submarine vessel is entirely a Vietnamese product, suitable for the sea and island conditions as well as the operational requirements of the Navy. The basic specifications of the vessel are clearly stated: full-load displacement is 935 tons; maximum speed is 28 knots (over 51 km/h); range is 3,500 nautical miles; withstands sea level 8 and wind level 10…

In addition to the 150-ton multi-purpose transport ship (full load displacement of 297 tons; maximum speed of 11 knots; range of 300 nautical miles; carrying capacity of 150 tons of cargo/2 T54 tanks/60 troops) that has been and is being built and equipped for Military Regions 4, 5, 7, 9… the Military Ship Design Institute has also produced the 550-ton amphibious transport ship (VDB-550), capable of carrying many tanks and armored vehicles, which has been equipped for Brigade 649 of the General Department of Logistics.

Officers from the Institute of Military Ship Design inspect the operation of newly installed equipment on a combat ship of the 2nd Naval Region.

Unmanned boats

The Institute of Military Ship Design was established on March 30, 2009, with the mission of designing, building, and renovating military ships, vessels, and watercraft; conducting scientific research in the field of shipbuilding; and advising superiors on state management in military shipbuilding...

To date, the Institute has designed 19 types of ships, with nearly 100 new vessels built. Examples include ships for the permanent militia fleet; 550-ton amphibious transport ships; and 3,000-ton oil tankers. In particular, the success of the Ministry of National Defense-level project on researching and designing anti-submarine vessels suitable for Vietnam's maritime and island combat conditions, and the task of designing and modifying military ships to install missiles, provides a solid foundation for the Institute to be ready to design combat vessels suitable for new combat conditions.

Coast Guard reconnaissance vessel launched.

Molniya-class missile boats, newly built by Ba Son Corporation, conduct missile firing exercises at sea.

The Roro 5612 landing ship (newly built by Song Thu Corporation) is on duty in the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands area.

In addition to advising on over 40 projects and programs (most notably the Project to build a permanent militia fleet to participate in protecting maritime sovereignty and islands in the new situation), the Institute of Military Ship Design also provides technical support to units, with outstanding products (published), such as: technical support for live firing; tank flooding detection on ships; ship-wide monitoring; hydraulics on anti-terrorism armored vehicles...

"We are focusing on mastering the design of modern support vessel models, moving towards designing highly complex combat vessel models," said Colonel - Dr. Pham Quang Chien, revealing: "Our team has been researching, designing, and manufacturing new weapons and technical equipment to meet the requirements of modern warfare, focusing on unmanned watercraft"... (to be continued)

Capable of designing various types of combat vessels for maritime and island defense.

When it was first established, the Institute of Military Ship Design faced many difficulties. With the support of higher authorities, the Institute gradually received investment in infrastructure, specialized design software, laboratories for weapons and equipment, automatic control, ship engines, and mechanical engineering, etc.

In addition, the Institute organizes the selection and proposes to higher authorities the assignment of engineers graduating from domestic and foreign universities with specialties in hull design, machinery, electrical systems, weapons and equipment to work at the Institute; regularly sends staff to participate in a number of technology transfer projects in the design and construction of military ships from abroad; and accesses and masters modern ship design software… To date, 50% of the Institute's technical research staff have received formal training in ship design, weapons and equipment integration, and automatic control…

Over 70 scientific research projects of the Institute, including a state-level project on "Research and development, modification of mobile oil and gas drilling rigs serving the marine economy and national defense and security" under the project cluster "Research on basic design, details, and integrated manufacturing technology of 400ft self-elevating drilling rigs suitable for Vietnamese conditions and research on development and modification of mobile oil and gas drilling rigs serving the marine economy and national defense and security," were awarded the State Prize for Science and Technology (2021).

Several projects were highly praised by the Ministry of National Defence, affirming the Institute's capability to design warships suitable for the conditions of maritime and island defense operations, such as: "Research and design of anti-submarine vessels suitable for Vietnam's maritime and island combat conditions"; "Manufacturing rescue boats with a capacity to carry one infantry squad using PPC material"; "Designing a set of equipment for testing the watertight seal assembly of the propeller shaft of Kilo-class submarines at the shipyard"...

Colonel Ho Van Chau, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Military Ship Design

Some types of ships are being built domestically.

Ba Son Corporation, under the General Department of Defense Industry, is the only high-tech combat shipbuilding unit in Vietnam. It has built many types of gunboats and missile boats for the Vietnamese Navy, such as: the first pair of TP.01 and TP.01M gunboats of Vietnam, currently in service with Brigade 127, Region 5 of the Navy; the BPS-500 class anti-ship missile patrol boat; and the Molniya class missile boats (1241.8) currently in combat formations of Regions 2 and 4 of the Navy.

The Z173 shipyard (Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company Limited) has also successfully built the TT-400TP class gunboats based on preliminary designs purchased from abroad. Six gunboats built by Z173 are currently in service with the 2nd and 3rd Naval Regions.

The Z189 shipyard built new vessels including: large patrol boats (CSB-8001, 8004); small patrol boats (border guard ST-112, BP-98, customs patrol HQ-75, coast guard TT-120, combined search and rescue patrol boat CN09, armed fishing boat 734, high-speed naval patrol boat 285, ST-126…); troop carriers (Truong Sa-571, belonging to the K122 transport ship class, ST-194, combined patrol and troop carrier ST-294A); medical ship Khanh Hoa-561… Notably, Z189 also built the multi-purpose submarine search and rescue vessel 9316 (Yet Kieu-927, currently in service with the 189 Submarine Brigade of the Navy), the self-recovering rescue vessel ST-168, and submarine rescue vessels Stoker and Besant (Royal Australian Navy)…

In addition, the shipyards of the General Department of Defense Industry have successfully built new Roro 5612 landing ships (Song Thu Corporation) for the 175th Brigade, 5th Naval Region; fisheries patrol vessels (TK-1482C class, KN-750 class, KN-6000 class, KN-2011 class) for fisheries patrol detachments; and TS-500 reconnaissance vessels for Coast Guard Regions 3 and 4…

Most recently, ships for the maritime militia fleet (the shipbuilder is the Department of Militia and Self-Defense, under the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army), implemented in phase 1 in the provinces of Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Kien Giang; Da Nang City…

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tham-lang-thiet-design-tau-quan-su-185241218202105556.htm