In 1995 the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) bought its first Challenger class submarine (RSS Challenger) from the Swedish Navy, which was quickly followed by another three (RSS Conqueror, Centurion and Chieftain) in 1997. As all the submarines were designed by the Swedes for operations in the Baltic Sea, extensive modifications were required to make them serviceable in tropical waters.
Challenger class specifications:
Length: 51 meters
Beam: 6.1 meters
Crew: 28
Max Speed: 16 knots
Displacement: 1,130 tonnes
RSS Archer Class (6)
In 2005, two Archer class submarines were acquired. RSS Archer was launched in Sweden in 2009, RSS Swordsman 2010. RSS Archer was declared operational in 2011, RSS Swordsman was declared “battle-ready” on April 2013. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, officiating at the latter’s “coming out” ceremony, said it marked the end of RSN’s 8 year journey to replace some of the
Challenger-class submarines.
Archer class specifications:
Length: 60.5 meters
Beam: 6.1 meters
Crew: 28
Max Speed: 15 knots
Displacement: 1,400 tonnes
With AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) and state-of-the-art sensors, the Archers are more capable than Indonesia’s HDW 209s and Malaysia’s non-AIP Scorpenes. They are also superior to Australia’s non-AIP Collins SSKs. On March 2013, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen basically said the same thing about the ageing Challenger-class coming to the end of their operational lifespan and due for replacement by the two Archers.
Then the 3 Dec 2013 press release from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems confirmed the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) purchase of two brand new HDW 218SGs from the German submarine maker, a contract estimated at 1 billion euros (S$1.7 billion). ST Electronics, part of the ST Engineering group, will co-develop the Combat System with Atlas Elektronik GmbH, one of the companies under investigation for paying bribes totaling $24 million to Greek government officials to acquire U-boat contracts.
Israeli Navy's ISN Dolphin
AIP Dolphin 2 class specifications:
Length: 68 meters
Beam: 7.0 meters
Crew: 35
Max Speed: 20 knots
Displacement: 2,300 tonnes
The 218SG will probably be a modified version of the Dolphin 2 Class submarines developed and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the Israeli Navy. Rumour has it that that Israel has tested a nuclear-capable version of its medium-range “Popeye Turbo” external link cruise missile design for deployability from the 650mm torpedo tubes in its Dolphin Class submarines. Is this how the little red dot intends to join the nuclear arms race?
Tattler
* The writer blogs at http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com