BANGKOK, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Thailand has hired a British defense consultant firm to help with its novel midget submarine design project.
The Thai navy has recently decided to hire BMT, the defense consultant firm based in Britain, to provide shipbuilding technology and risk management pertaining to the planned design of its midget submarine, said project manager Capt. Sattaya Chandraprabha on Thursday.
The British firm has agreed to do the consultant service for the Thai navy until the end of next year's first quarter, Sattaya said.
The planned design for the midget submarine, the first ever to be built wholly in Thailand, is scheduled to take a four-year time from now, followed by the construction of a prototype which is expected to take two years, according to the project manager.
It is primarily designed to have a range of 150 to 300 tons displacement, plus a modernized undersea navigational system and maneuverability for planned deployment in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Enditem
