Overview
- Hanwha Ocean formalized five tri‑party teaming agreements and three university MOUs on March 7 in Ottawa, linking Canadian firms and researchers with partners such as LIG Nex1, KTE and Safran for sonar, power systems, embedded computing, optronics and navigation.
- Britain is backing Hanwha through a partnership with Babcock Canada, which maintains Canada’s current submarines, with the UK ambassador visiting Hanwha’s shipyard to underscore support and planned British components on KSS‑III boats.
- Germany’s rival offer is supported by Norway, which has ordered Type 212CD submarines, signaling broader European alignment behind TKMS.
- Reports suggested Canada could split the 12‑submarine buy between Korea and Germany, but Korea’s industry minister said Canadian officials indicated no such plan.
- Bidders are emphasizing offset packages and life‑cycle support, with Hanwha‑led proposals citing Canadian steel purchases, crude imports, and collaboration on AI models and satellites, while Canada has not announced a procurement decision.