The Royal Thai Navy Practices Familiarization with Chinese Type 039G Submarines in the Gulf of Thailand in Exercise BLUE STRIKE 2023

12 September 2023

Submarine Familiarization in the Gulf of Thailand with  People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) CNS Chang Cheng, the Type 039G Submarine in the Gulf of Thailand on 8 September 2023 as part of  exercise BLUE STRIKE 2023 on 1-10 September 2023 (photo : Royal Thai Navy)

Combined exercise BLUE STRIKE 2023 between the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) and the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) with an opening ceremony on September 3, 2023. For the first time, the People's Liberation Army Navy sent a Type 039G (NATO codenamed Song class) diesel-electric attack submarine to practice in the Gulf of Thailand. By training to familiarize yourself with submarines. Familiarization together with the frigate H.M. Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Royal Ship Naresuan Thai Navy.

Chang Cheng submarine means 'Great Wall', which is the name given to all conventional diesel-electric submarines followed by the ship number. China has removed ship numbers from all its submarines since the 2010s to preserve secrecy. This makes it very difficult to identify each ship.

The naval formation exercise on 8 September 2023 saw the Type 071 floating dock amphibious landing craft, the Chinese LPD-986 Siming Shan, sailing alongside the floating dock amphibious landing craft, HTMS Chang, of the Royal Thai Navy, which is a Type 071ET LPD, an export model that China built for Thailand, has recently entered service with differences.

Type 054A class frigate, FFG-599 Anyang frigate, Type 903A class large logistics ship, Chaohu (890) large logistics ship, also forms a squadron with the submarine Chang Cheng and the ship frigate HMS Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Royal Ship HMS Naresuan also participated in the PHOTOEX photography exercise.

From the video, it is clear evidence that the Type 039G Song class submarine has a submersible displacement of 2,250 tons, a length of 75 m, and can operate in the Gulf of Thailand. Just like the United States Navy (USN: US Navy) once sent a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine to train in the Gulf of Thailand 

(AAG)