Singapore commissions two new Invincible-class Type 218SG submarines
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| The RSS Impeccable. Photo c/o The Straits Times. |
The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has brought the first two new Invincible-class deisel0-electric attack submarines into service.
The two submarines were named RSS Invincible and RSS Impeccable, were commissioned to service with the RSN on 24 September 2024, with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wang, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, and Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen leading the ceremony held at the Changi Naval Base.
The two new submarines are considered the most modern and most capable in Southeast Asia, have a high level of automation, and are custom-designed to meet the RSN’s ergonmonics and mission requirements as well as operations in shallow and busy waters.
Both submarines were built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in Kiel, Germany, and are based on the shipyard’s new Type 218SG design, which in turn were derived from the Type 214 and Type 212 diesel-electrric submarines in service with the German Navy and dozens of other countries.
The submarines are equipped with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system which allows it to operate underwater longer than other conventional submarines, and is believed to be equipped with eight forward-firing 533mm and two 650mm torpedo tubes.
It also features a Combat Management System developed jointly by Germany’s Atlass Elektronic and Singapore’s ST Electronics, while its high automation allows the submarine to be crewed by one 28 sailors and officers, and space for a special forces detachment.
Two more Invincible-class submarines are in different levels of construction in Germany, with both the Illustrious and Inimitable already launched as of 2024.
[2] Naval News
Reviewed by Asia Pacific Defense Journal
on
September 26, 2024
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