Facing pressing requirements of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, most notably the protection of sovereignty over waters and islands as well as marine economic development, the Military Vessel Design Institute (MVDI), under the General Department of Defence Industry (GDDI) was founded on 30 March 2009. It is tasked with designing, building, and converting military ships and craft in support of civilian needs and export. This mission belongs to the multidisciplinary scientific field and is highly specific, difficult, and complex in the context of insufficient human resources, material basis, and operational capacity. Nevertheless, given the creative thinking, self-reliance, resilience, and high determination, the MVDI Party Committee and Commanders have adopted many policies and measures drastically and synchronously, proposed strengthening of organisations and staffing, promoted scientific, technological potential, etc., to meet both short- and long-term missions. Over the past 15 years’ building and development, with only 11 cadres and modest material basis at the onset, the MVDI has secured great advancements in organisation and ability to research, design, and master many specific technologies and innovative technologies; completed hundreds of scientific, technological projects and missions at all levels. Projects carried out by the MVDI are applied extensively in the operations of the Navy, Coast Guard, Border Guard, search and rescue, military transportation, oil and gas exploitation, and so forth. More importantly, the Institute has designed, built, and converted dozens of ships and boats of all kinds, including many modern, heavy-lift military ships, to satisfy the demands of training, combat readiness, and patrol to protect sovereignty over waters and islands of the Fatherland. Despite being a newly established unit, the Institute has affirmed its trade name and position in research and development of military craft and shipbuilding industry of Viet Nam; been awarded with the third-class Fatherland Protection Order and many other noble prizes.

Senior Colonel Pham Quang Chien works with the ship designing team

In recent years, facing developments of building the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and defending the Fatherland, most notably the requirements of self-reliance and modernisation of the VPA, the MVDI Party Committee and Commanders have stuck to the direction for developing the defence industry; proactively overcome difficulties, taken advantage of opportunities, and pursued many solutions to improve capacity to research, design, and provide advice to military ship building programmes.

To implement that direction, the Institute focuses on grasping resolutions and directives of the Party, Central Military Commission (CMC), Ministry of National Defence (MND), and GDDI, especially Resolution No. 06-NQ/TW, dated 17 July 2011, of the Politburo on “building and developing the defence industry through 2020 and beyond.” This provides the foundation for the Institure to issue and seriously implement the special Resolution on “leading increased research and design of military craft, especially the combat ships and some novel technical equipment, contributing to modernisation of the VPA.” Of note, the Institute concentrates leadership of fulfilling design programmes, plans, and projects with good quality and progress; improving the capacity to research and develop auxiliary ships and some new technical equipment, striving for self-design of high-speed craft, combat ships, and fast-attack craft; and integrating missiles on military craft, etc., in accordance with the VPA’s weapon and equipment development strategy. Moreover, it attaches importance to attraction and training of cadres and leading experts in its assigned field; proposes direction for launching new scientific, technological projects; seeks for sources of budget; develops a specific financial mechanism, etc., step by step building itself into a leading research and design establishment in this field.

During the implementation process, the Standing Committee of the Institute Party Committee directly instructs compilation of a list and road map for designing military craft; designates and assigns tasks for research groups; and determines cooperation units. It also proactively advises and proposes conduct of scientific, technological projects on researching, designing, and building combat ships, unmanned water craft, dual-use craft, air cushion craft, etc., suitable for conditions in Vietnam. The Institute directs and encourages research departments, divisions, and groups to actively come up with creative ideas, formulate research plans, secure equipment and materials, and put research quality first. It prioritises participation in national programmes and projects, high-tech projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Programme KC.2023, and so on. To achieve the effectiveness, the Institute improves the model of focused design teams to bring into play collective intelligence in the implementation of scientific missions; attaches importance to management and use of cadres suitable to their advantages and competence; devolves professional responsibility and interests to cadres and sections concerned. It also requests departments and divisions to closely follow guidelines of all levels, improve legal procedures to address problems relating to research and design, and propose the needs of documents, material basis, cooperation procedures, etc., for project management bodies. The Institute has carried out one national project, 30 projects and missions at the MND- and General Department levels, and 29 the Institute-level projects and missions in the 2013 – 2023 period.

Receiving the new product

Military craft design is a multidisciplinary science relating to engineering, electricity, automation, and so forth. Therefore, the quality of human resources is of significant importance. Given this perception, the Institute Party Committee and Commands aim to develop the corps of cadres with a proper structure, synchronicity in terms of speciality, standardisation of professional skills, competence, intelligence, and ability to carry out scientific, technological projects. To attain this goal, the Institute regularly reviews and grasps the corps of cadres; proactively formulates plans to attract, train, and use cadres. Over the past few years, the Institute has diversified the ways to generate the source of cadres and conduct training; send cadres on a rotational basis to postgraduate courses at home and abroad, especially those in specific specialities in accordance with its functions and mission development direction. Furthermore, the Institute usually holds workshops to improve and update professional knowledge and popularise experience in designing ships and equipment used onboard; sends cadres to work at factories, participate in domestic shipbuilding projects, attend international exhibitions, conduct negotiations and receive technological transfer in some key areas from foreign countries. To enhance the effectiveness of training and using cadres, the Institute requests cadres to align their theses with its ongoing and future scientific, technological projects; actively publish their research products in scientific, technological magazines at home and abroad; attach importance to studies about the interaction between ship design and building and real material norms, etc., to improve standards and norms. It also encourages cadres to work and study concurrently in order to enhance their professional competence, skills, and experience. Moreover, the Institute assesses cadres’ competence through their self-motivation, creativity, spirit of daring to think and daring to do, and ability to overcome difficulties and hardships, which lays the basis for developing leaders of research groups and leading experts in each field as well as appointing command and management cadres. It proposes specific policies to attract, retain, and provide satisfactory treatment for researchers and designers, especially the young ones with good qualifications and promising leading experts. Consequently, all researchers hold graduate and postgraduate degrees, in which 21 are doctors, 41 are masters, 28 engineers with basic and intensive training, and many cadres training abroad. In addition to development of human resources, the Institute actively proposes investment in upgrading infrastructure, equipment, ship design software in a modern direction, providing the foundation for promoting research and design competence. It has carried out many investment projects to make breakthroughs in technical facilities and equipment so far; built a sample manufacturing factory with sufficient machines in mechanical processing and devices used for measuring strength and hardness of materials, ultrasound scanning of weld defects, inspecting quality of weapons and equipment, and so on.

To achieve the goals of complete self-mastery over technology and designing and building “made-by-Vietnam” ships, the Institute steps up establishing a scientific, technological foundation for building military craft. On the basis of grasping Resolution No. 791-NQ/QUTW, dated 30 December 2012, of the CMC on “leading scientific, technological, environmental work in the military through 2020 and beyond,” the Institute focuses on forming groups of projects, including exploitation of technical equipment and design software, selection of ship styles and materials, pre-feasibility studies, etc., which is the ground for execution of missions. Of note, priorities are given to the project groups concerning military craft and underwater weapons; elimination of bottlenecks in designing novel ships, weapons, and equipment; installation and correction to weapons and equipment onboard; and supplement to designs that are not transferred by foreign countries. The Institute intensifies standardisation and development of design materials and sets technical standards for the design, building, and technical evaluation of military craft, especially electronic libraries, support software, and  sets of Vietnamese technical specifications. During this process, it promotes the movement to leverage initiatives, technical innovation, and the youth’s creativity; allows group leaders to propose more projects to directly serve the design process or undertake scientific missions entrusted by the high echelons, ensuring both progress, enrichment of databases, and cadres’s opportunities for more studies and enhanced competence. To address difficulties in high technology, the Institute speeds up scientific, technological cooperation with many partners; signs memoranda of understanding aimed at promoting cooperation with think tanks, universities, and shipbuilding companies in designing ships; taking advantage of  experienced experts’ support. It actively looks for foreign partners with developed military shipbuilding to receive transfer of ship designing technologies, to be trained, and to use modern design software. Thus, the Institute has completed many projects of great value to the military and economy such as design and development of mobile oil platforms in support of marine economy, national defence, and security; design and development of rescue boats; design and development of the equipment used for testing the watertight compartment that houses the propeller of Kilo-class submarines, etc., thereby being given 1 Certificate of Merit for innitiatives and 8 Creative Youth Awards in the Military by the MND.

There is a lot of hard work ahead of the Institute. Nevertheless, given its experience, tradition, political awareness, high determination, and scientific intelligence, the Institute will manage to successfully accomplish all assigned tasks to deserve to be the leading research and design establishment in military shipbuilding, making active contribution to the cause of national contruction and defence.

Senior Colonel, Doctor PHAM QUANG CHIEN, Director of the Institute