It was established in Report No. 139 of the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Chamber of Senators of the Nation. In question number 21, it raises "projects under study" for purchase or transfer by leasing with the aim of recovering strategic capabilities for our country.
As indicated in Report No. 139 by the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, the acquisition of new submarines with options for local construction of three units is proposed, on the one hand, and, on the other, the incorporation of one or more second-hand units. discharged, in the short/medium term.
The document detailed that The Scorpene Class of the French Naval Group company and the Type 209 Class manufactured by the German firm ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) are being evaluated, as well as an alternative to acquiring a transitional submarine.
Regarding the option of acquiring locally built units, this is based, as detailed by the Zona Militar portal, on the provision of three attack submarines with conventional or diesel-electric propulsion that would be assembled in the country.
In parallel, in a short-term period the incorporation of a second-hand unit is being studied. Among the options analyzed by the Ministry of Defense is the possibility of Ula-class submarines of the Royal Norwegian Navy , the only submarines in service that that force has.
The units currently operational in the Norwegian force were built in Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Specifically, the German firm exclusively designed six units with a focus on coastal operations.
The systems for these models were developed in Norway by Kongsberg, attack sonar in Germany and flank sonar in France. They are among the quietest and most maneuverable submarines in the world, which, together with their small size, makes them difficult to detect from surface vessels.
Given their small size, these submarines have less projection than the latest generations of Argentine submarines (U-209 and TR-1700), considering that the latter has considerable autonomy (70 days) and diving speed (25 knots on the surface).
In this sense, the Norwegian models would be the ones that resonate the most within the Argentine Navy, since they have proven to be a reliable system in shallow waters, to be small and to have stealth capabilities. In addition, they would be adjusted within the budget of the Navy portfolio.
In any case, these submarines would be incorporated in the long term, when the Royal Norwegian Navy receives the Type 212CD built by TKMS that will replace its current units.
The firepower of the submarines that Argentina wants to buy
The options that are being analyzed to be incorporated into the force have similar firepower.
Scorpene class
6 torpedo tubes
18 torpedoes
4 Harpoon or Exocet missiles
Type 209 Class
6 torpedo tubes
up to 24 553 mm torpedoes
Ula class
8 tubes for 14 torpedoes of the Atlas Elektronik DM2A3 model and caliber 533 mm or 16 anti-submarine mines
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