Additional thoughts on the planned move to an all Type 218SG class (or Invincible class)
The launch of Invincible is testament to the warm and growing defence ties between Singapore and Germany. Bilateral defence relations have strengthened with the signing of the enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (eDCA) in 2018. The eDCA paves the way forward for cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as in submarine training, defence technology and cyber defence. Both countries also cooperate and interact widely through high-level visits and dialogues, military exchanges, cross-attendance of professional courses and technology collaboration.
Three, the German builders (also implemented in the U212A class diesel-electric submarines) overcame the lack of space in the submarines by modifying part of the sail fin to become an internal lock. Besides supporting the covert delivery and extraction process, the submarine has to allocate supporting resources to the SOF team, such as accommodation, food, stowage space for equipment, as well as mission planning and control areas. At the same time, the submarine has to maintain sufficient space for its own equipping needs to maintain its core fighting capability. It is difficult to optimise the small conventional submarines to support SOF operations while maintaining their core war fighting capability without a substantial increase in the submarines’ size. The torpedo room is designed such that the designated torpedo racks can be removed to allow the fitting of additional bunks for the SOF.
The launch of Invincible is testament to the warm and growing defence ties between Singapore and Germany. Bilateral defence relations have strengthened with the signing of the enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (eDCA) in 2018. The eDCA paves the way forward for cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as in submarine training, defence technology and cyber defence. Both countries also cooperate and interact widely through high-level visits and dialogues, military exchanges, cross-attendance of professional courses and technology collaboration.
It's all German from now on. ST Marine has wound up it's Swedish JV, Fortis Marine Solutions Pte. Ltd.
Challenger-class submarines are an old design; suffered a number of deficiencies due to its small size at 1,400 tons (50m x 6.1m) and limited submerged endurance (without AIP); and was very expensive to maintain. The older submarines took longer to recharge its' batteries than the Invincible class at 2,200 tonnes (at 70m x 6.3m and equipped with 2 x MTU Series 12V 4000 engines); with crew ergonomics and combat systems design less than ideal for Singapore's concept of submarine operations.
One, larger displacements for submarines like the Type 218SG have led to higher power demands. By improving energy plant output by using the MTU Series 12V 4000 engines, the Type 218SG is able to use upgraded sensors, and boost its C2 by increasing its communications bandwidth and integrating more systems into the CMS. As such, the MTU Series 12V 4000 diesel engine driven charging unit technology needs to adapt to the new requirements: firstly, more electrical power and secondly, provide rated power to fully utilize the Li-Ion advantages (when they mature and are available for sale).
Two, the Fuel Cell system (FC System) is developed by HDW in Germany. The system uses 4th Generation Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. PEM fuel cells are electrochemical energy converters in which hydrogen ions and oxygen ions are combined to produce electrical charge. Similar to the Stirling engine, the FC system generates electricity at a slow and steady rate, suitable for low-speed submarine operations. For high-surge operations, the submarine relies on its regular battery system, which in turn is recharged by the FC system.
Three, the German builders (also implemented in the U212A class diesel-electric submarines) overcame the lack of space in the submarines by modifying part of the sail fin to become an internal lock. Besides supporting the covert delivery and extraction process, the submarine has to allocate supporting resources to the SOF team, such as accommodation, food, stowage space for equipment, as well as mission planning and control areas. At the same time, the submarine has to maintain sufficient space for its own equipping needs to maintain its core fighting capability. It is difficult to optimise the small conventional submarines to support SOF operations while maintaining their core war fighting capability without a substantial increase in the submarines’ size. The torpedo room is designed such that the designated torpedo racks can be removed to allow the fitting of additional bunks for the SOF.
The Invincible class will have integrated logistics support from the Germans, other suppliers and ST Marine. Because of importance of safety, a complete refit of each Swedish submarine (for even the newer Archer Class was required after six years service). This required stripping the hull of equipment and refurbishing each individual component before reassembly, which consumed millions labour hours in ST Marine's yard. The Singapore Navy understood that these refurbished submarines, were documented lightly (rather than extensively) and it was not uncommon for faulty components to be examined before appropriate repairs could be determined with parts ordered from Sweden, elsewhere or to be fabricated.
The Singapore DSTA’s Integrated Programme Management Team (IPMT) based in Germany adopted a system safety framework – one that incorporates the best elements of the Naval Sea System Command SUBSAFE programme and the United States Department of Defense System Safety approach (MIL-STD-882E) – to provide maximum assurance of the submarines’ safety. The IPMT comprised members from DSTA and the RSN. DSTA IPMT focuses on technical safety while the RSN crew focuses on operation safety. The TKMS engineers are responsible for the safe design and the implementation of the safety measures. The tripartite partnership allows a robust discussion on design safety, and checks and balances on the implementation of the safety measures. DSTA will ensure that maintainability for this class of submarines is taken to the next level by the contractors, including developing the required specialised industrial capacity for first level support for the sonar arrays and the combat management systems that we had input-in during its design.
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