In the export version of Type 212 submarines, the 214s suffer
from various problems. According to political sources from the ROK who prepared
reports, some major defects were detected on all nine Son Won-il Class
submarines. Boats are modified versions of the German Type 214 vessels, also
known as KSS II.
Some problems detected in the inverter module cabling were
found on seven Son Won-il class submarines. Two of them were announced as
functional defects. The modules were procured from Germany. Systems are
produced by Siemens, which are critical components for propulsion
infrastructure as they are the heart of the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP)
system. Each boat has twelve of them. According to open sources, three Son
Won-il vessels suffered from problems due to a known method. There are some
predictions, but the cause of the defect is still officially unknown. Seven subs are deployed without necessary repairs, which risks vessels and
the entire crew.
The ROK paid around USD 5 million for repairs. But the
production, transportation from Germany to Korea and installation of the
components take around six months. It is known that the long process negatively
affects the combat readiness of the entire fleet.
Hellenic Navy also experienced many problems with the Type
214 submarine. The biggest issue was the instability. Excessive propeller
cavitation, overheating in the fuel cells of the Air Independent Propulsion
system and excessive listing in lousy weather when surfaced. Greece detected
additional issues such as insufficient AIP output power and efficiency, high
periscope vibration, sonar flank array problems and seawater leakage into the
hydraulic infrastructure of the vessel and rejected the first hull of the
programme, named “Papanikolis”. It is known that the Hellenic Navy has
excessive readiness rate problems with Type 214 submarines and cannot deploy
efficiently.
Turkish Navy is also building its own Type 214 submarines
under license and cooperation with German partners. They are called Reis Class.
Turkiye did not accept the adding weights to specific compartments of vessel
solution, which TKMS developed for Hellenic Navy boats, and came up with a
unique solution. Turkish Navy, which conducts studies on submarine technology
and associated problems, extended the length of the boat and relocated the
position of the centre of gravity to bring stability. Reis class submarines
have the same AIP technology.