German shipbuilder thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has received a contract from Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) to construct two additional Type 218SG diesel-electric submarines for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the company announced on 8 May.
Singapore’s to acquire two more Type 218SG submarines – which are known as the Invincible-class in RSN service and are heavily customised its requirements and feature air-independent propulsion (AIP) for extended underwater operations – from four to six boats was first announced during a defence budget debate in March.
“Having proven that the Invincible-class submarines can perform to expectations in tropical waters, the SAF plans to procure two more, to make up a total of six, as the steady state for our submarine fleet,” said Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen at the time.
TKMS noted in its statement that the order extension can be absorbed by existing production capacities in Germany despite robust utilization projected till the 2040s, which includes four additional Type 212CD submarines for the German Navy, the new Polarstern research icebreaker, and funding for the project launch of the new F127 frigate.
“The order expansion underscores the generally positive market situation in naval shipbuilding and gives us the opportunity to further expand our very well-filled order book,” said TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard.
The RSN earlier commissioned its first two Invincible-class submarines, RSS Invincible and RSS Impeccable, in September 2024. The third and fourth boats, Illustrious and Inimitable, are under construction in Kiel and are expected to be delivered to Singapore by 2028.
Unlike the RSN’s current submarine fleet comprising two 1960’s-vintage Challenger-class (ex-Sjoorman-class) submarines acquired from Sweden in the mid-1990s and two Archer-class (ex-Vastergotland-class) boats brought into service in 2011-2013, the Type 218SG submarines are newbuild platforms customised to Singapore’s specific requirements and address its demographic challenges.
by Jr Ng
