TSAMTO, October 13. On October 12, at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) shipyard in Kobe, a ceremony of baptism and launching of the SS-515 Jingei, designed for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces, took place.
(SS-515) Jingei is the third submarine of the new Taigei class. The NAPL is planned to be transferred to the Ministry of Defense of Japan in 2023 after completion of completion works on the hull, power plant, weapons systems and testing.
The lead submarine of this series, SS-513 "Taigei", was launched at the MHI enterprise in October 2020 and put into service in March 2022. In accordance with the "Guidelines of the National Defense Program for Fiscal Year 2019 and Beyond", published in December 2018, the Taigei will be used as a test submarine.
As reported by TSAMTO, in the summer of 2019, the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries began construction of a new class of 29SS, SS-513 "Taigei". Her launch took place on October 14, 2020. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces took over the submarine in March 2022.
The second submarine of the series, SS-514 "Hakugei", is being built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). This NAPL was launched on October 14, 2021.
Approved by the government on December 18, 2018, the "Medium-term Defense Program" (MTDP), designed for five years (2019-2023), provides for the construction of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh submarines of a new class. The final decision on the number of purchased NAPS has not yet been made. It is planned that the fourth submarine of the series, SS-516, will be built at the KHI shipyard.
The length of the Taigei class is 84.5 m, the width is 9.1 m, the estimated draft is about 8.5 m, the standard displacement is about 3000 tons. The submarine is equipped with lithium-ion batteries instead of lead-acid batteries, as are the last two of the 12 Soryu-class submarines (SS-511 and SS-512), which allows you to stay underwater for a longer time. New sound-absorbing materials were used in the design, a system of countering enemy torpedoes was installed to increase survivability. The Taigei is equipped with two Kawasaki diesel engines with a capacity of 6000 hp and can reach a maximum speed of up to 20 knots. The new NAPS will also be equipped with a new generation sonar system, an anti-torpedo system, which was installed on the last four submarines of the Soryu class (from the 8th to the 12th).
Six 533-mm torpedo tubes are expected to allow the use of a new version of the heavy torpedo "Type-18", in addition to the "Type-89".
The NAPL has a reduced electromagnetic and acoustic signature and will be equipped with a new combat control system (CMS), the capabilities of which the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces do not disclose.
Currently, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces are also armed with 12 2950-ton Soryu-class submarines and 12 2750-ton Oyashio-class submarines, the first of which was commissioned in 1998.
