Myanmar Navy commissions second submarine on 74th anniversary

The Myanmar Navy commissioned its second submarine at an event to mark the service's 74th anniversary on 24 December.

The vessel inducted was a Ming (Type 035)-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK) that was earlier in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy.

It has been named UMS Minye Kyaw Htin with pennant number 72, according to images released by the Tatmadaw.

Minye Kyaw Htin is similar to the two Ming-class SSKs that were handed over by China to Bangladesh in 2016. The boat has an overall length of 76 m, an overall beam of 7.6 m, and a hull draught of 5.1 m. It has a top speed of 18 kt when dived, 15 kt when surfaced, and 10 kt while snorting.

The SSK is armed with eight 533 mm tubes that can deploy weapons such as the Yu-4 anti-surface heavyweight torpedo and can also carry up to 32 naval mines in lieu of torpedoes.

The Myanmar Navy commissioned its first submarine at an event to mark its 73rd anniversary in December 2020. The vessel was a ‘Kilo'-class SSK that was earlier in service with the Indian Navy as INS Sindhuvir .

Besides the Ming-class submarine, the Myanmar Navy commissioned several other vessels at its 74th anniversary commemorations. These include its second Inlay-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), which was first reported by Janes in a February 2021 satellite imagery analysis.

The OPV is equipped with a flight deck and helicopter hangar, and has an incorporated stern ramp to facilitate the launch and recovery of rigid-hull inflatable boats.

The service also commissioned what appears to be two 18 m river attack craft and four 20 m patrol vessels at the event.