• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Awarding of certificates to Malaysian submariners

16 Mar 2007

The Chief of Staff of the Malaysian Navy, Admiral Ramlan, accompanied by Admiral Boiffin, Commander of the Submarine Fleet and Strategic Forces of the French Navy, the directors of ARMARIS -- the prime contractor of the Malaysian submarine program -- and directors of DCI's (Défense Conseil International) submarine training unit, NAVFCO, today handed out certificates and insignia to 29 Malaysian students at the Naval Training Center. The new submariners had been training in France since 2005, among a total of 146 Malaysians stationed in Brest.

This ceremony, which is the third of its kind, marks the successive phases achieved by the Malaysian submariners in their training program. The certificate and the insignia/badge, presented by the Chief of Staff of the Royal Malaysian Navy to ten of them, correspond to the Elementary Submariner Certificate of the French Navy. It recognizes that those certified have acquired the general knowledge needed to operate a submarine.

The Advanced Certificate, presented to 19 of them, is awarded for having successfully completed the "Advanced Submarine Course" module; it recognizes competence in handling onboard systems. The overall training course is aimed at transmitting to Malaysian crews the skills need to safely operate Scorpene-class submarines.

Armaris, the joint venture of DCN and Thales is the prime contractor for the overall submarine program for Malaysia. This program will allow the Royal Malaysian Navy to acquire an effective submarine force.

Besides the training of Malaysian crews by DCI/NAVFCO, the Malaysian submarine program includes the construction of two Scorpene submarines, being built by DCN as prime contractor and developer, together with its Spanish partner, Navantia. It also includes the maintenance necessary for the Agosta-class Ouessant, which was withdrawn from active service by the French Navy to serve as a trainer for the Malaysian crews, as well as a diving simulator and platform of a Scorpene submarine.