MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile receives first Scorpone class submarine

Chile officially received Friday in Cherbourg, France, the first of two Scorpane class submarines specially built for the Chilean Navy.

The conventional "O'Higgins" which is scheduled to arrive in Chile next December is 66,4 metres long with a surface displacement of 1.525 tons and 1.688 underwater and can submerge to 300 metres.

Chilean Defence Minister Jorge Ravinet who headed the ceremony in the French Atlantic yards said that once the two new submarines are fully incorporated, the Chilean Navy will have concluded another chapter in long process of renewal of its equipment.

"The two units are not only modern, tailor built for the Navy but will also represent significant operational savings and in the number of personnel", added Mr. Ravinet.

The Chilean minister made it a point to underline that "the process of acquiring the two units has been done with the greatest transparency possible with our neighbours and the South American continent. Chile is not involved in any arms race; we simply are replacing obsolete equipment with over thirty years in service which is extremely expensive to maintain".

"With these two new Scorpone class submarines the Chilean Navy is ending its submarine renewal process at least until 2025".

The Scorpone class submarines are jointly built the French-Spanish consortium DCN-IZAR, the first they ever delivered to the Chilean Navy and will be replacing the Oberon class, "Hyatt" and "O'Brien", which were decommissioned on reaching thirty years of operational use.

The "O'Higgins" with a crew of 36 has an underwater speed of 20 knots and can remain submerged for fifty days. Specially equipped for antisubmarine warfare and long underwater patrolling she carries 18 conventional torpedoes with six firing tubes. The other Scorpone unit "Carreras" was baptized last year in Spain and still has to undergo sea trials.