Totally correct, the cheapest European subs would cost at least $500 million compared to the $300 million of a Kilo and the Kilo is actually more silent than both of those.
Hmmm it looks like you're not here for a honest debate, you're only here to defend the VCP/VPA at all cost. While I only said I "suspect" the Scorp/U214 are more silent than the Kilo, you said outright that the Kilo is
actually more silent. And I haven't seen any good argument/data to even suggest this.
All your points are good. My big issues with your perspective is that you promote the type 214 and its specs and from my perspective I wouldn't touch such sub with a 12 foot pole because it has a history of so many design problems that it was actually a horror story, so for me, those specs don't mean anything because they are specs in paper. I just don't trust that design and the same goes for the Amur / Lada class because of the same reasons.
There are many views about the Greek's 214 Submarine debacle. Some say it is all an excuse from the Greeks to avoid paying due to their financial crisis (I have an interview article from HDW reps who said their subs met all standards). Some say they are all minor defects and kinks that were overblown by the Greeks, but were easily later rectified (seems to be this case for S Korea). If it were so bad, why did the Turks recently ordered them? why did the Portuguese ordered them? they seem happy with theirs. The most important and telling sign is that the S Koreans have ordered a second batch of the 214, and they ordered more units than the first batch. This is far from your suggested "horror story" where the specs is "only on paper and don't mean anything."
The Scorpene on the other hand is fine, I'm not aware of any serious issues, I think its a good sub and is certainly a more modern design than the Kilos. One spec where the Kilo is better than the Scorpene is the submerged speed, up to 25 knots for the Kilo, up to 20 knots for the Scorpene.
Did you read the article I linked for you? the top speed limit of subs are self-imposed, they deliberately make the limit. Going over 20 knots is noisy and will interfere and compromise its own sonar. There is no point going an extra 4-5knot over the typical 20knot, no sub can ever outrun a torpedo, ASW aircraft or even a ASW ship. Like what the article said, stealth and range/endurance is more important.
Why I think the Kilos are more silent than western subs? Because it has a very well established reputation of being a very silent sub!
What? how does that proves or even suggest the Kilo is more silent than the Scorp/214?
Quoting Naval-technology.com: "The Type 636 submarine is considered to be one of the quietest diesel submarines in the world. It is said to be capable of detecting an enemy submarine at a range three to four times greater than it can be detected itself."
“The Project 636 Kilo-class submarine has been dubbed the “black hole” by the U.S. Navy for its level of quietness.
Firstly, naval-tech.com is just a web portal for military news and promo/marketing style writing. They are not research engineers doing technical analysis and experiment. One of their journalist is just a military tech ethusiast who even go on another forum, he mostly go to expo and copy-paste the news and promo/marketing materials from company reps. You can easily see this writing style in their website. One of the paper I refer you to is a article from a peer-reviewed scientific journal written by research engineers.
They give technical arguments why one hull is better than another, they don't just repeat promo/marketing materials from company reps.
Secondly, nothing from what you quoted shows or even suggest that the Kilo is more silent than the Scorp/214.
The Project 636MV-class sub of Vietnam has improved stealth features through the removal of flooding ports and treating the hull with multilayer anechoic rubber tiles.
This only says that the improved kilo is more steathy than the earlier Kilo. Doesn't mean that its more steathy than the Scorp/214.
The tiles are fitted on casings and fins to absorb active sonar waves that reduce and distort the return signal. The anechoic tiles also shield sounds from within the submarine thus reducing the range of detection by passive sonar.”
...By the way, the anechoic rubber tiles in the Kilos as I understand are more comprehensive and complex than in other subs, they are actually a multilayer design that is extremely effective.
Like I said, anechoic rubber is not exclusive to russian subs. In fact, the germans used it decades before the soviet did. Can you provide source that the russian design is more effective/superior to the German ones? what design does the German tiles have?
Why the US Navy calls the Kilos the "black holes"? Because they have a habit of approaching US vessels undetected, something that they have done many times and we all know that the US Navy has the most sophisticated ASW equipment, so for me, those are first class credentials, I'm not aware of any western subs with such a reputation
This is just bad logic. The Kilo has a nick name "black hole", therefore it is more silent than the Scorp/214?
The Phantom F-4 has the nick name "Mig killer" and has a reputation of killing Migs. They have a habit of shooting down Migs. These are first class credential. The F-22 does not have this nick name or reputation, therefore the F-4 is superior to the F-22????
Like the F-22, the Scorp/214 are newer generation subs and has different operators working in different region. You can't make comparision purely based on their history and nick name.
Btw, when was the last time a Kilo succesfully trailed US ships undetected? exactly who and when was the Kilo given the nick name "black hole"? Is there precise info out there? or are these just recycled writings from journalist? If they are words from decades ago, how is this relevant to the current debate about the steath character of the Kilo vs Scorp/214?
I understand that my reasons to consider the Kilos more silent than other subs are subjective and its impossible to prove, but they are solid arguments never the less.
No, I haven't seen solid arguments yet other than promo/marketing type quotes from naval-tech and journalists. And your claim is not just subjective, you said the Kilo is
actually more silent than the Scorp/214. I have atleast given some technical analysis for my views. I can find more from peer-reviewed journals, but it seems like you have no interest in a real debate. You only want to defend the VCP/VPA here.
This whole debate started because you said that the Kilos are obsolete, my point is that a sub that is so difficult to detect as to be called a "black hole" and with a good missile capability with the Club missiles can't be considered obsolete by any means,
No, I never said the Kilo are obsolete, read my posts again. I said it is outdated. Meaning the technology used on the Kilo is old compared to the newer generation like the Scorp/214/Lada (even if the Lada wasn't entirely successfully, it still tried to utilise newer tech). The AIP system is readily available for the Scorp/214, while the Kilo
currently does not have that option.
The highly tapered stern design of the Kilo hull is an example of an outdated design, just like how the article argues. Even the Chinese S20 sub, which some western media say is based on the Kilo, does not have such highly tapered stern. This design alone has implication for hydrodynamic, power efficiency and acoustic signature. No one, other than an ardent apologist for the VCP/VPA, would deny the superior technology of AIP systems of the western subs and its significance. There are also potentially many other examples of newer western technology like newer diesel engines, etc. Calling the Kilo technologically outdated compared to the newer generation is justified. However, it does not mean the Kilo is useless and I've never said they are obsolete.
the project 636M of Vietnam is a very significant upgrade of the original Kilo and even that is not as modern as newer designs, it does its job with excellent results, its reliable, its a proven design, it has no issues and its very cheap.
How does this prove that the Kilo is more silent than the Scorp/214 like you've said earlier? It only say that VN's Kilo is an improvement over the older Kilo design.
Furthermore, the manufacturer, Rubin, its developing an AIP kit to retrofit into existing Kilos, so there you go, you'll be able to have a Kilo with AIP, not bad at all!
You totally disregard the Lada for its "problems". You do know its AIP development is one part of those "problems" don't you?