The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)’s Invincible-class submarine, Impeccable, was received in Singapore in a homecoming ceremony held at RSS Singapura – Changi Naval Base today. Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Sean Wat, senior RSN officers and submariners were present to witness the ceremony. Impeccable will be undergoing a series of local sea trials and workup towards full operationalisation. Invincible remains in Germany to support the training of RSN submariners, while the last two submarines are progressing well in their project development in Germany. Impeccable is one of four Invincible-class submarines designed for operations in Singapore’s shallow and busy tropical waters.
The Invincible-class submarines, formally classified as the Type 218SG submarines, is a class of conventionally-powered attack submarines, ordered by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) from German-based naval conglomerate ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). Custom-built for Singapore’s needs, these submarines possess state-of-the-art capabilities, including high levels of automation, significant payload capacity, enhanced underwater endurance, and ergonomics optimised for the Asian physique. Their induction into the RSN will further enhance its capability to safeguard Singapore and protect its vital sea lines of communication.
The Type 218SG is an extensively-customised derivative of the export-oriented Type 214 submarine, with specific design characteristics drawn from Type 212 submarines. They feature several capabilities, including a substantial level of automation, a significant payload capacity, enhanced underwater endurance and superlative ergonomics. Singapore’s Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) ordered a total of four Type 218SG submarines, of which two were ordered in 2013 and two more in 2017, as a replacement to the RSN’s existing Challenger-class and Archer-class submarines. Of the four submarines that were ordered, three have been launched, while the fourth remains under construction.
The Type 218SG is reported to have a greater ordnance payload (and essentially greater firepower) than the RSN’s previous submarines, owing to its much larger size. The submarine features eight 533-millimetre (21.0 in) and two 650-millimetre (26 in) forward-firing torpedo tubes—which may be used for firing heavyweight torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and for laying naval mines, as well as a dedicated horizontal air-lock, to disembark naval special forces teams. A fuel-cell powered air independent propulsion (AIP) module, several estimates put the Type 218SG’s underwater endurance at about 28-42 days (4-6 weeks), without snorkelling
