On May 6, 2026, Taiwan’s first indigenously developed submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤), successfully conducted its maiden torpedo launch test — the most consequential weapons milestone in the program’s history to date.

#Taiwan's first indigenous submarine #Haikun (SS-711), the #Narwhal, has successfully conducted the torpedo launch test. A big milestone. It'll soon be defending our waters.
💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/ffRAfV7shs

— Joseph Wu (@josephwutw) May 7, 2026

State-owned shipbuilder CSBC Corp confirmed in a formal statement that the test verified the combat system’s full operational chain: detection and tracking, fire control, launch sequencing, and torpedo guidance. The Hai Kun — named after a mythological creature of unfathomable scale from the ancient text Zhuangzi — carries a Lockheed Martin combat system and is designed to deploy US-made Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes. CSBC did not disclose the specific type of torpedo fired during the test.

Taiwan launched its first indigenously designed and built submarine in September 2023. The vessel — named Hai Kun, or Narwhal — represented the culmination of a program that was announced in 2016, funded against significant domestic political opposition, and executed despite the near-total unavailability of normal defense industrial cooperation channels. No major submarine-building nation would sell Taiwan a complete submarine. The United States, which provides most of Taiwan’s conventional weapons, does not export submarines to any partner. Taiwan built one anyway, with foreign assistance obtained through channels that required deliberate diplomatic ambiguity from the governments whose citizens and companies were involved.