Secret documents detailing the technical specifications of Scorpène-class submarines have reportedly been leaked, which could potentially expose the secrets of Malaysia’s own submarine fleet.

According to The Australian today, the submarine’s manufacturer DCNS had suffered a leak of 22,400 pages of technical documents.

These documents reportedly detail the entire combat capabilities of the six Scorpène submarines that the French shipbuilder had designed for the Indian Navy.

“The leaked DCNS data details the secret stealth capabilities of the six new Indian submarines, including what frequencies they gather intelligence at, what levels of noise they make at various speeds and their diving depths, range and endurance - all sensitive information that is highly classified.

“The data tells the submarine crew where on the boat they can speak safely to avoid detection by the enemy. It also discloses magnetic, electromagnetic and infra-red data as well as the specifications of the submarine’s torpedo launch system and the combat system,” the report said.

The Royal Malaysian Navy operates two Scorpène submarines out of a naval base in Sepanggar, Sabah, which had been purchased from DCNS a cost of RM3.4 billion in 2002.

Named 'KD Tunku Abdul Rahman' and 'KD Tun Razak', the two submarines reportedly cost RM1.3 billion to maintain over a five-year period, ending Nov 30, 2015.

Vessels of the same class tend to be highly similar, although different countries may request for different components to be installed, including critical parts such as underwater microphones and sonar.

It is unclear to what extent the Malaysian Scorpènes are similar or different compared to their Indian counterparts.

DCNS was also contracted by the Australian government to design a new submarine for its navy.

Stealth advantages could be compromised

Following the leak however, The Australian expressed concern that any stealth advantages the Australian submarines would have would be greatly compromised, if data regarding these submarines is similarly leaked.

It said the leak contained 4,457 pages on the Indian Scorpène’s underwater sensors, 4,209 pages on its above-water sensors, 4,301 pages on its combat management systems, 493 pages on its torpedo launch systems and its specifications, 6,841 pages on its communications systems, and 2,138 pages on its navigation systems.

The daily also released excerpts of the secret documents, which the daily had redacted.

The Australian said its sources told it that the leak is believed to have originated from a DCNS sub-contractor in France in 2011, and was subsequently taken to ‘a company in Southeast Asia.

It was then supposedly passed to another company in the region through a third party, before being passed to a company in Australia.

“It is unclear how widely the data has been shared in Asia or whether it has been obtained by foreign intelligence agencies,” the report said.

The Australian also claimed that it had seen separate confidential DCNS documents on plans to sell French frigates to Chile and the French sale of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship carrier to Russia.

“These DCNS projects have no link to India, which adds weight to the probability that the data files were removed from DCNS in France,” it said.

The Australian quoted DCNS saying in response to the leak that, “multiple and independent controls exist within DCNS to prevent unauthorised access to data and all data movements are encrypted and recorded".

“In the case of India, where a DCNS design is built by a local company, DCNS is the provider and not the controller of technical data.”