Key Points and Summary on Kilo-Class Submarine – The Vietnam People’s Navy now operates the largest and most potent submarine force in Southeast Asia, a fleet of six Russian-built Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines.
-Nicknamed the “Black Hole” by the US Navy for their exceptional stealth, Hanoi acquired these submarines as a direct response to China’s growing naval power and assertiveness.
The Kilos, armed with land-attack cruise missiles, have transformed Vietnam’s navy from a coastal defense force into a formidable regional player capable of posing a significant deterrent and a serious threat to Chinese naval and land-based assets.
Vietnam’s Kilo-Class Submarine
The Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) boasts the largest submarine force among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, operating a fleet of six Kilo-class submarines. The Kilo-class boats are known by the moniker “black hole”, a nickname originally coined by the United States Navy during the Cold War.
United States Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) personnel coined the name because the Kilo was extremely difficult to detect. It was infamous for being stealthy by the standards of its day—able to sneak up undetected just off the bow of an aircraft carrier, but it was not a nuclear-powered boat.
The Kilo is a diesel-electric powered submarine and carries the designation of “SSK,” which is a US Naval Intelligence (ONI) designation for diesel submarines of this class. The designation of “SS” denotes submarine, and the “K” designates that it is a “hunter-killer”—designed to take out other submarines as well as surface targets.
The Kilo Class was the last major Soviet diesel-electric submarine of the Cold War era. Today, it remains the most prolific class of submarine. Although it was designed during the Soviet era, much of its success in sales to export customers occurred after the collapse of the USSR.
The Kilo today is the most well-known Russian non-nuclear submarine class, and also the most widely exported. There were even reports in Moscow that six of this type were sold as recently as 2023 at the Armiya 2023 defense expo at Khubinka base outside of Moscow.
Vietnam’s Acquisition of the Kilo
The first Kilo-class submarines sold to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) were in December 2009. It was a $2 billion procurement between Moscow and Hanoi for six of this type. Their acquisition was one of the largest procurements ever by the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN). It was also one of the largest ever export sales for any Russian naval system.
The procurement cost included not only the acquisition of the subs but also the terms of the contract, which included training programs for the Vietnamese naval crew, to be conducted in Russia itself. This and other procurements by the VNAF resulted in expenditures in 2018 that totaled US$5.5 billion, trailing only Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore within the ASEAN community of nations. These nations are all more advanced economies with far larger defense budgets.
The induction into service of this type, which also marks the official creation date of the VPN’s modern submarine fleet, occurred in 2013 when the first of the Kilo-class, the HQ-182 Hanoi, was delivered. The sixth and last sub of the VPN Kilo-class force, the HQ-187 Ba Ria-Vung Tau, was delivered in 2017 at Cam Ranh Bay naval base.
This last sub operates on a diesel-electric power plant and was delivered to the VPN as part of the same contract as the other five. It was transported to Vietnam not under its power, but instead was shipped on the Rolldock Storm, a Dutch-registered cargo vessel.
Change of Mission
The decision by Vietnam not only to procure this submarine but also to acquire a boat that can launch land-attack missiles was a signal sent by Hanoi regarding the threat it perceives from the actions of its neighbor, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It was indicative of Hanoi’s intention to develop the means to counter Beijing’s increasing military prowess and the PLAN’s increasingly aggressive behavior.
Up to this point, the VPN was a force with an almost entirely defensive profile. But with the acquisition of the Kilos, the Vietnam force has made a notable re-orientation away from regular anti-ship tactics. The land attack capacity of the Kilo boats means that Vietnam now has a much more capable and formidable force—one that can strike back against the PLAN and also target land targets, not just attack Chinese ships while they are at sea.
This increase in the power of the VPN has been reported extensively and has surprised some analysts with the speed at which it has modernized its fleet. It means that Hanoi now has a deterrent that would significantly complicate the PRC’s strategic calculations. It is a product of what Hanoi has assessed as necessary for its naval force to protect its interests.
About the Author:
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs and Director of the Asian Research Centre with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
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