CS General Carrera (SS22)

CS General Carrera (SS22) History

The Chilean government signed an agreement with France and Spain to produce two conventionally powered Scorpene-class attack submarines. The ships will directly replace the aging Oberon class, which will serve in the Chilean Navy for about 30 years.

The French concern DCN ("Direct Chantier Navel") has partnered with Spain's Navantia to manufacture submarines, one of which became the CNS General Carrera (SS-22) (Scorpene products are now managed by DCNS - "Direction Technique des Constructions Navales"." Headquarters Located in Paris, France). During the construction of the Carrera, the bow was completed by DCN, the rest of the hull was handled by Navantia, and final assembly took place in Cartagena, Spain.

As of September 2013, a total of 19 Scorpene-class submarines were planned , several of which are already in service with the navies of Chile (2), India (6) and Malaysia (2), and Brazil plans to receive the first of four submarines starting in 2015.

General Carrera is named after General Jose Miguel Carrera Verdugo (1785-1821), one of the founding fathers of independent Chile. His sister, General CNS O'Higgins, named General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (1778-1842), was another Chilean patriot.

Both served in the Chilean War of Independence (1810-1826), which further weakened Spanish rule in South America and led to Chile's freedom.

The hull of the Carrera was laid in November 2000 and launched on 24 November 2004. She officially entered service on July 20, 2006. Although her hull designation was "SS-22", General Carrera actually succeeded her sister - General O'Higgins (SS-23) - to serve on the O'Higgins. Construction started in November 1999, construction started in 2003, and it was put into use in 2005. Carrera did not complete sea trials until November 2005.

She was handed over to Chilean authorities after arriving in Valparaiso in December 2006 and is now based in Talcahuano (as with O'Higgins). Talcahuano is located in the middle of Chile's coast and has unrestricted access to Pacific waters.

The

Scorpene class has a more traditional design profile with its rounded bow, tubular hull and tapered stern. The sails are mounted amidships and contain the optics, sensors and communication systems required in other submarine designs. The diving plane is mounted high on the sail, while the tail has a cruciform fin arrangement with vertical dorsal and pelvic fins and a pair of horizontal planes. The multi-blade propeller is located in a design position behind the rudder to provide maximum efficiency when cutting off pressure in deep water.

The equipment section is located in the forward part of the hull, and the crew cabin is located aft of the midship. Overall dimensions include a length of 217.9 feet, a beam of 20 feet and a draft of 19 feet.

Navigation is handled by the Sagem system, while electronic warfare consists of the Argos AR 900 ESM kit.

As a conventionally powered submarine, the Carrera was not equipped with a nuclear propulsion system, which featured heavily in American and Russian designs (and some French and British designs). Instead, the agreement focuses on diesel-electric systems, which offer emerging maritime powers such as Chile a lower-cost and lower-risk alternative.

The United Technologies propulsion system powers surface and subsea operations, enabling top speeds of 12 knots surface and 20 knots underwater. At an economical surface speed of 8 knots, the operational range is 6,500 nautical miles, although the underwater range is limited to 550 nautical miles at 5 knots. A normal mission duration window of 50 days is listed when it comes to standard onboard food and fuel supplies.

The vessel can operate at a depth of 300 meters (980 feet).

As an attack submarine, the Carrera is equipped with 6 x 533mm torpedo tubes to support the Whitehead Alenia Black Shark homing torpedoes. The boat can be reloaded 18 times within its cramped onboard storage space. The ship also supports SM originating in France. 39 Flying Fish anti-ship missiles instead of her torpedoes, attack surface warships from a distance.

In addition, if necessary, the missiles themselves can be replaced by mines.

While not as capable compared to their Western counterparts (mainly US nuclear powered attack submarines), General Carrera has undoubtedly added much-needed underwater capabilities to the Chilean Navy, especially in South America where some specific modern weapons are sometimes deployed , can become different worlds in a given conflict.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing