On September 24, 2024, an official ceremony was held at Singapore's main Changi Naval Base for the commissioning of the first two large non-nuclear submarines Invincible and Impeccable of the German-built project 218SG, out of four ordered, into the Singapore Navy. The ceremony was attended by Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Singapore's Minister of National Defense Ng Yong Hyun.
The lead large non-nuclear submarine Invincible, German-built Project 218SG, commissioned into the Singapore Navy, 09/24/2024 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Singapore
The Ministry of National Defense of Singapore signed the first contract with the German shipbuilding association thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for the construction of two non-nuclear submarines for the Singapore fleet specially designed for the Singapore requirements of the new project 218SG in December 2013. In May 2017, an additional contract was signed with TKMS to build two more boats of this type for the Singapore Navy. The parameters of the contracts were not disclosed, but unofficial German sources estimated their total value at 3.2 billion euros.The construction of these submarines for Singapore was carried out in Kiel at the Kieler Werft shipbuilding enterprise, part of TKMS (the former head shipyard of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft - HDW). The construction of the first two boats for Singapore was started there in 2014. The lead boat of this Invincible project was launched in Kiel on February 18, 2019 and first entered factory sea trials from the Keel on August 31, 2020, but after completing tests and improvements, it remained in Germany until 2024 to train personnel for all four boats ordered by Singapore of this project. The Invincible boat was delivered by transport ship from Germany to Singapore only on September 18, 2024.
The second boat of this type, Impeccable, which was eventually the first to be delivered to Singapore, was launched in Kiel on December 13, 2022. Upon completion of the tests, the Impeccable boat was delivered by transport ship from Germany to Singapore on July 7, 2023.
The third and fourth boats Illustrious and Inimitable were launched in Kiel on January 12, 2018. The Illustrious boat was launched on December 13, 2022, at the same time as the launch of the second boat Impossible. The fourth Inimitable boat was launched on April 22, 2024. Both of these boats are currently being tested, and will probably be delivered to Singapore in 2025.
The project 218SG submarine is an enlarged version of the well-known German export project of the non-nuclear submarine 214. The total surface displacement of the project 218SG boat is 2000 tons, and the total underwater displacement is 2200 tons. The length of the boat is 70 m and the width is 6.3 m (the boat of project 214 has a total surface displacement of 1,690 tons, 65 m and 6.3 m, respectively). At the same time, the design of the 218SG boat uses architectural elements of another modern German 212A project - in particular, X-shaped tail rudders. The 218SG project boat has eight 533 mm torpedo tubes and two 650 mm torpedo tubes for special types of weapons and equipment. The boat is equipped with the same air-independent power plant as the boat of project 214 - that is, two modules of HDW/Siemens electrochemical generators with a capacity of 120 kW each. The boats of the 218SG project are equipped with advanced ACS CMS jointly developed by the German company Atlas Elektronik and Singapore Technologies Electronics. The crew consists of only 28 people.
New boats of the 218SG project are to be replaced as part of the 7th Flotilla (submarine forces) The Singapore Navy previously acquired submarines in Sweden - two Challenger-type boats (Sjöormen) of the Swedish A 12 project built in the late 1960s (two more boats of this type were already withdrawn from the Singapore Fleet in March 2015) and two Archer-type boats (Västergötland) of the A 17 project built in the 1990s years, commissioned into the Singapore fleet in 2011-2012 after being equipped in Sweden with air-independent power plants based on Stirling engines.
name/file/img/v-sostav-vms-singapura-vvedeny-pervye-dve-neatomnye-podvodnye-lodki-nemeckogo-pr-28rr4ru5-1727449021.t.jpg">
The official ceremony of commissioning into the Singapore Navy of the first two large non-nuclear submarines Invincible and Impeccable of the German-built project 218SG, 09/24/2024 (c) The Ministry of National Defense of Singapore and Edgar Su / Reuters
