Soryu and New Japanese Submarine Class Table

Anonymous kindly provided many details on September 23 to 30, 2020, regarding diesel generators (diesels) and Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) for Japan's newest submarines. I have noted these changes in the revised  SORYU TABLE below the details.

Anonymous's September 23 to 29, 2020 comments are:

"Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) is building 3,000 ton submarines as successors to the Soryus, and the fourth ship (02SS) [1] will be equipped with new diesels [2].

[1] "SS" numbers and Financial Year names for Japanese submarines are based on the era of reigning Japanese Emperors. So that is the eras of former Emperor "Heisei" and present Emperor "Reiwa". Hence the names of the newest (post Soryu) Japanese submarines are 29SS, 30SS, 01SS and 02SS for Financial Years 2017 (Heisei 29), 2018 (Heisei 30), 2019 (Reiwa 01) and 2020 (Reiwa 02), respectively.

[2] The final two Soryus, which use LIBs, are 27SS and 28SS. LIBs makes them "Soryu Mk IIs". The early New Class 3,000 ton (surfaced) submarines (29SS, 30SS, 01SS) will be equipped with 12V25/31S diesels which are longer stroke versions of the 12V25/25SB used for all Soryus. Performance of new diesel generators for 02SS seems to be improved significantly.

[Pete Comment: the New Class will likely be assigned a name of a Japanese mythological creature (eg. a mermaid or a different dragon than "Soryu", etc)] 

02SS will also equip with improved LIBs. The electrical system for LIB-submarines is summarized as follows:

-  Soryu Mk IIs (27SS, 28SS): LIBs type SLH (see SLH explationation below); with also have  
   12V25/25SB diesels

-  first 3 subs of the New 3,000 ton Class (29SS, 30SS, 01SS): LIBs type SLH and
   2 x 12V25/31S diesels

-  4th sub of 3,000 ton class (02SS): LIBs type improved SLH [1], new diesel [2]

[1]  According to the ex-Minister of Defense, improved SLH LIBs with better performance had been
       developed but was not immediately adopted due to defense budget shortfalls.

[2]  As an item for a new diesel was not found in R&D planning for submarine, a new diesel might be
       a 12V25/31S based on an existing diesel (e.g. the 12V25/25SB).

Noise testing by KHI, for new or modified diesels took place in a simulated pressure hull, which was constructed by KHI in 2019. This strongly suggests that the new diesel 02SS is made by KHI ie. Kawasaki.

Judging from specifications of the NDS (National Defense Standard), output of 12V25/25S is 2,000kW  and it may be an evolution from the diesel for 29SS (12V25/31S). Output of a new diesel for 02SS is expected to be more than that of 12V25/31S (2,500-2,800kW) and to be 3,000kW or more.

In this case of a 3,000kW-output, the indiscretion ratio (IR) of 02SS might be 4%-5%. As ex-Vice Admiral Masao Kobayashi [see his photo and biodata here] suggested charging of LIBs would be conducted outside the operational sea area. Then the real IR of 02SS may be considerably lower (less than 1%?). [Pete Note: "A submarine’s indiscretion rate [or ratio] is defined as the percentage of time a submarine spends snorting. This indiscretion rate depends strongly on the energy discharged from the batteries and the diesel generators’ capacity to recharge the batteries. Typical snorting indiscretion rates [of LAB submarines] are between five and twenty per cent"]

[1] NDS F80182D [General Rules of Rotating Electric Machine for Ship] 4.1 a) and 4.1 g) specify rated output of AC generator and rated speed AC generator driven diesel, respectively, as follows:

4.1 a) 80, 100, 160, 200, 300,400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2000, 2500, 2800, 3000 [kW]

and

4.1 g) 900, 1200 or 1800 [rpm]

[2] SHIPS OF THE WORLD 2020, No930, Page109

“Output of KAWASAKI 12V25/25S for Oyashio is 3400PS (=2040kW)”

Latest information on battery arrangement for Oryu (27SS), a Soryu Mk II, was reported at [1] below. There, additional LIBs are loaded in a double deck arrangement in place of LOx for AIP tanks [as there is no AIP on Mk IIs] see [2] below. 

Then, amount of batteries in Oryu (27SS) and Toryu (28SS) seem to be twice as much as those in Soryu Mk Is [which have LABs and much space taken up by AIP chemicals and Stirling engines], suggesting loading of 960 LIB-arrays (total energy, 70MWh?). 27SS and 28SS might show better performance previously reported here, in Submarine Matters.

[1] SHIPS OF THE WORLD 2020, No935

[2] at http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2016/09/pressure-hull-alloys-debate-titanium.html see the “Cutaway diagram of a Soryu submarine”

In the Oryu (27SS), LOx tanks in section 10 are removed, doubled decker structure is adopted for section 10 and filled with additional LIBs (240 LIB-arrays x 2).

SLH

Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) discloses purchasing information in detail but not perfectly. SLH is a model name of a LIB for submarine. SLH is made by GS YUASA. Specifications of equipment are classified as “old”, “revised” and “new” for existing, revised and new models, respectively.

Specification class of SLH for 02SS in FY2020 is “revised”, suggesting that LIB for 02SS is an  improved version of LIBs (“old” SLH) for 01SS. If LIB is fully model changed, new model name is selected and specification is “new”.

Specification of the 2 diesels for 02SS in FY2020 are classified as “new”, suggesting that they are a new model.

 In 27SS, improvements other than LIBs are achieved, and 28SS Toryu improves 27SS somewhat.

By the way, an ex-Vice Admiral (not Kobayashi) of JMSDF said nuclear submarine is needed in future, because even LIB-submarine is still powerless (10% energy of nuclear submarine). RAN might have the same idea for Australia."

Anonymous correction comment of September 30, 2020 is:

12V32/25, 12V32/25S, 12V25/31 are wrong descriptions. Correct description is 12V25/31S [for 29SS, 30SS, 01SS and perhaps 02SS?]. 

12V25/25S for Oyashio and 12V25/25SB for Soryus [ie. 16SS to 28SS] are correct description. 

Meaning of 12V25/25SB means a V12 engine, 25cm in bore, 25cm in stroke, second version (B). In 12V25/25S, A for first version is omitted. 

(Life cycle cost of 29SS [New 3,000 ton Class] series) 

According to formal report by MoD, when 12 x 29SS are operated for 24 years, life cycle cost from design to disposal is 1.6 trillion yen (21 B AUS) except improvement of equipment:
-  37.4 B yen for R&D stage,
-  890 B yen for production stage,
-  671.6 B yen for operation/maintenance stage,
-  0 B yen for disposal stage,
Total = 1.6 trillion yen [1].

[1] In case of 30 years-operation [as in Australia] and one replacement of sonar system (2B yen per a submarine), life cycle cost for 12 submarines may: be 1.7 trillion yen (22.4 Billion AU$)."
[Pete Comment: This indicates if Australia has chosen a Japanese design Attack class submarine Australia is likely to have saved a vast amount of money.]

[See most of the diesel and battery details incorporated in the revised SORYU TABLE below.]

SORYU TABLE. as at October 1, 2020. 

SS No. Diesel Type Motor	Build No Name	Pennant No.	MoF approved amount ¥ Billions FY	LABs, LIBs, AIP	Laid Down	Laun -ched	Commi ssioned	Built By
5SS Oyashio 2 Toshiba motors	8105 Oyashio currents	SS-590/ TS3608	¥52.2B FY1993 2 x 12V25/25S  diesels for all Oyashio class (each diesel 2,000kW)	LABs only	Jan 1994	Oct 1996	Mar 1998	KHI
6SS-15SS Oyashios  10 subs 2 Toshiba motors SMC-7?	8106 -8115 various	SS-591-600	¥52.2B per sub FY1994-FY2003	LABs only	15SS Feb 2004	15SS Nov 2006	15SS Mar 2008	MHI & KHI
16SS Soryu/ Dragon class  Mk I	8116 Sōryū dragons	SS-501	¥60B FY2004 all Mk.1 LAB+AIP Soryus have 2 x Kawasaki  12V25/25SB  diesels may total (6,000kW sidebar) see and + 4 AIP SMC-8 motor	LABs + AIP	Mar 2005	Dec 2007	Mar 2009	MHI
17SS	8117 Unryū	SS-502	¥58.7B FY2005	LABs + AIP	Mar 2006	Oct 2008	Mar 2010	KHI
18SS	8118 Hakuryū	SS-503	¥56.2 FY2006	LABs + AIP	Feb 2007	Oct 2009	Mar 2011	MHI
19SS	8119 Kenryū	SS-504	¥53B FY2007	LABs + AIP	Mar 2008	Nov 2010	Mar 2012	KHI
20SS	8120 Zuiryū	SS-505	¥51B FY2008	LABs + AIP	Mar 2009	Oct 2011	Mar 2013	MHI
21SS LIBs Concept Research Project			No 21SS built. It was an 8 year research project on LIBs. 1st LIBs sub launched was 27SS in 2018.
22SS	8121 Kokuryū	SS-506	¥52.8B FY2010	LABs + AIP	Jan 2011	Oct 2013	Mar 2015	KHI
23SS	8122 Jinryu	SS-507	¥54.6B FY2011	LABs + AIP	Feb 2012	Oct 2014	7 Mar 2016	MHI
24SS	8123 Sekiryū	SS-508	¥54.7B FY2012	LABs + AIP	15 Mar 2013	2 Nov 2015	13 Mar 2017	KHI
25SS	8124 Seiryū	SS-509	¥53.1B FY2013	LABs + AIP	22 Oct 2013	12 Oct   2016	12 Mar 2018	MHI
26SS	8125 Shoryū	SS-510	¥51.7B FY2014 last SMC-8 motor	LABs + AIP	2014	6 Nov 2017	18 Mar 2019	KHI
27SS a Soryu "Mk II" as it has LIBs. 1st Soryu Mk II	8126 Oryū 11th Soryu	SS-511	¥64.4B FY2015  with 2 12V25/25SB diesels (totaling 4,200kW)  SMC-8B motor Soryu Mk IIs may have twice as many batteries as Mk Is, ie 960 LIB-arrays in Mk IIs, other improvements	LIBs only (SLH type)	Nov 2015	4 Oct 2018	5 Mar 2020	MHI
28SS Soryu Mk II, 12th & final Soryu	8127 Toryu	SS-512	¥63.6B FY2016 still 12V25/25SB.  "2,900t" surfaced	SLH LIBs	Jan 2017	6 Nov  2019	Mar 2021?	KHI
29SS First  Taigei Class ("Great Whale) 3,000 ton	8128 Taigei		¥76B FY2017 (Heisei 29) Higher ¥76B budget may be due to being first of new Taigei class with  new 12V25/31S  diesels (each 2,500-2,800kW?)	SLH LIBs maybe 960	2017?	14 Oct 2020	Mar 2022	MHI
30SS  New Class named after mythological creature		SS-513	¥71.5B FY2018  (Heisei 30) 12V25/31S diesels	SLH LIBs	2018?	2020?	2022?	MHI?
01SS  New Class	8029?	SS-514	¥B? FY2019 (Reiwa 01) 12V25/31S  diesels	SLH LIBs maybe 960+	2019?	2021?	2023?	KHI?
02SS  New Class	8030?	SS-515	¥B? FY2020 (Reiwa 02) Improved SLH LIBS 2 x Diesels uprated 12V25/31S or newer  (each likely 3,000+kW?)	Impro ved SLH LIBs	2020?	2022?	2024?	MHI?
03SS	8031?	SS-516	¥B? FY2021	LIBs	2021?	2023?	2025?	KHI?
04SS	8032?	SS-517	¥B? FY2022	LIBs	2022?	2024?	2026?	MHI?
05SS	8033?	SS-518	¥B? FY2023	LIBs	2023?	2025?	2027?	KHI?
06SS	8034?	SS-519	¥B? FY2024	LIBs	2024?	2026?	2028?	MHI?
07SS	8035?	SS-520	¥B? FY2025	LIBs	2025?	2027?	2029?	KHI?
08SS	8036?	SS-521	¥B? FY2026	LIBs	2026?	2028?	2030?	MHI?

Key to Table: Table information exclusively provided to Submarine Matters. LABs = lead-acid batteries, AIP = air independent propulsion, LIBs = Lithium-ion Batteries. 
¥***B = Billion Yen. MHI = Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, KHI = Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. 

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Anonymous and Pete

Fact or Fiction: Next-Generation Air Dominance Aircraft “Flies”

COMMENT

Methinks the US Air Force is unprofessionally cheerleading and stretching definitions of having  “flown” a Next-Generation Air Dominance aircraft, until proven otherwise. The USAF has then prevented any chance of public verification due to its wall of security “classification”. 

What could the Sixth Generation Aircraft “prototype” amount to?

SUMMARY

Wiki reports “On September 14, 2020, the USAF announced [via DefenseNews] that a prototype aircraft part of the Next-Generation Air Dominance [NGAD] program had flown for the first time at the Air Force Foundation's Air, Space, and Cyber Conference. The details remain highly classified. There are no available details about the plane's first flight date and location or capabilities. Additionally, there is no available information on who the manufacturer of the aircraft is.”

DEFENSENEWS ARTICLE

The announcement: came via Valerie Insinna at DefenseNews, who, in an excellent article, reported September 14, 2020:

“The US Air Force has built and flown a mysterious full-scale prototype of its future fighter jet”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has secretly designed, built and flown at least one prototype of its enigmatic next-generation fighter jet, [Will Roper] the service’s top acquisition official confirmed to Defense News on Sept. 14.

The development is certain to shock the defense community, which last saw the first flight of an experimental fighter during the battle for the Joint Strike Fighter contract 20 years ago. With the Air Force’s future fighter program still in its infancy, the rollout and successful first flight of a demonstrator was not expected for years.

“We’ve already built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world, and we broke records in doing it,” Will Roper told Defense News in an exclusive interview ahead of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference. “We are ready to go and build the next-generation aircraft in a way that has never happened before.”

Almost every detail about the aircraft itself will remain a mystery due to the classification of the Next Generation Air Dominance program, the Air Force’s effort for fielding a family of connected air warfare systems that could include fighters, drones and other networked platforms in space or the cyber realm. [IS THAT MEANT TO PROVE “FLOWN”?]

Roper declined to comment on how many prototype aircraft have been flown or which defense contractors manufactured them. He wouldn’t say when or where the first flight occurred. And he refused to divulge any aspect of the aircraft’s design — its mission, whether it was uncrewed or optionally crewed, whether it could fly at hypersonic speeds or if it has stealth characteristics.

Those attributes, he said, are beside the point.

The importance, Roper said...”In fact, [we’ve] not just checked the boxes, [we’ve] demonstrated something that’s truly magical.” ["magical" WTF! Really professional USAF language?]

Now, the Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD, sits at a decision point. Roper declined to say how quickly the Air Force could move its next-gen fighter into production, except to say “pretty fast.” But before the service decides to begin producing a new generation of fighters, it must determine how many aircraft it will commit to buy and when it wants to start purchasing them — all choices that could influence the fiscal 2022 budget.

The program itself has the potential to radically shake up the defense industry. Should the Air Force move to buy NGAD in the near term, it will be adding a challenger to the F-35 and F-15EX programs, potentially putting those programs at risk...and perhaps give SpaceX founder Elon Musk a shot at designing an F-35 competitor.

“I have to imagine there will be a lot of engineers — maybe famous ones with well-known household names with billions of dollars to invest — that will decide starting the world’s greatest aircraft company to build the world’s greatest aircraft with the Air Force is exactly the kind of inspiring thing they want to do as a hobby or even a main gig,” [the USAF's] Roper said.

The disclosure of a flying full-scale fighter prototype could be just what the Air Force needs to garner more financial support from Congress during a critical time where the service is facing budget constraints and needs to gain momentum, said Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense budget analyst with the American Enterprise Institute."

SEE WHOLE EXCELLENT DEFENSENEWS ARTICLE

COMMENT

The USAF's over-the-top Trumpadorian language suits snake oil selling well!

"Concept art released by the Air Force Research Lab in 2018 shows a potential next-generation fighter concept, or F-X. (Air Force Research Laboratory)" (Courtesy via DefenseNews 2019)

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This rendering of a Next Generation Air Dominance aircraft, by Lockheed Martin, shows a tailless stealthy future fighter. (Lockheed Martin) (Courtesy via DefenseNews 2019)

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This artist's rendering from Boeing shows one concept for the Air Force's future fighter, known as Next Generation Air Dominance. (Boeing)(Courtesy via DefenseNews 2019)
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Russia's Improved Kilo II Submarine (Project 636.3)

Russia's original (Project 877) Kilo subs have been operating since 1980.

But the newest sub-class is the Improved Kilo II, Project 636.3. The Improved Kilo II first entered service in 2013 and is being supplied to the Russian Navy only.

The indomitable "Jive Turkey" presents a clear, well-paced, Youtube description of Improved Kilo II Project 636.6 at https://youtu.be/OIpILOFfnYM and below

Highlights of this August 2019 Youtube (usefully seen in conjunction with this list) include:

1:43 - First of class, B-261, was laid down in 2010 in St Petersburg

4:42 - list of weapons carried

5:27 - Russians are clever in the way they load torpedoes from outside through 2 torpedo tubes in the
           bow

6:02 - uses an advanced (for Russia) Lama-EKM combat system

7:10 - Rubicon-M Sonar System with details (search for Rubicon-M in this very comprehensive article
          here)

8:15 - speed, test depth, noise "117 DB AT 1/YARD" ("Jive" doesn't reveal how decibels (DB) were
          determined from 1 yard of  B-261)

8:50 - first use of Kalibr land attack missiles (against Syria) from Improved Kilo II "B-237"

9:14 - Russia's Black Sea Fleet has received its 6 Improved Kilo IIs and then the Pacific Fleet
          (see table). 

"Jive" on Acoustic Vulnerabilities of Borei SSBNs

 A close friend has referred  me to "Jive Turkey's" Youtube "Project "Northwind" 955 Borei" SSBN at https://youtu.be/gKNqVOHs71Q and below:

"Jive" uploaded it on May 5, 2019. "Jive's" rapidly rising and articulate "Sub Brief" presence is proving an eye-opener for submarine aficionados as well as for sonar-people on other platforms (eg. skimmers and aircraft). I haven't seen sonar analysis details discussed in this depth in "Jives" many Youtubes anywhere/any time.

Bits I find most interesting include:

- 0 to 60 seconds where "Jive" describes what he did in the USN and in what era, security clearance etc.

- 14:45 "Acoustic Vulnerability" of the Borei as determined on sonar spectrum display, including
   vulnerabilities correlated with:

   = Continuous running seamless hydraulic pump

   = High demand transient

   = Missile tube preparation

   = Motor generator harmonics

   = Swarths

   = Station keeping

   and

   = Hull pop.

All very interesting. Another "Jive" youtube later this week.

Thai Army Fought In Vietnam - Creation of SEATO & FPDA

Comments and facts about Southeast Asian history are infrequent on Submarine Matters.

This is why Shawn C’s comments on September 16 and 17, 2020 are so interesting. Here they are with hyperlinks added, expansion of acronyms and occasional comments in brackets [...] from Pete.

The [US created and dominated]  the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) a defence bloc that existed from 1954 to 1977, which Thailand and the Phillipines were members of, while at that time many current SEA countries were still French or British colonies.

Yes, the UK had plenty of other issues to deal with in the 1960s, with the end of de-colonialization leading to bushfire wars occurring all across the globe, while Indonesia [under President] Sukarno in the early 1960s was aligning with the Communist Bloc for weapons and quite busy stirring up South East Asia, from the Western New Guinea issue with the Dutch, to Confrontation with Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. It was only when Sukarno was replaced in 1967 that Indonesian expansionist policies stopped, with the exception of East Timor [which was invaded by Indonesia in 1975].

The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) (1971 on) was formed right after the decolonisation of the British Empire by five Commonwealth countries – see The Diplomat (paysite) entry. FPDA was essentially created to defend Malaysia and Singapore, as a counter to expansionist Indonesian policies from the 1960s and the threat of the 'Communist Domino effect' coming down from Vietnam, which was eventually halted by the Thai's robust actions on their border.

FPDA always stuck Shawn as a Commonwealth 'boys club' with the UK, Australia and New Zealand taking over defence of three former colonies [Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei] until they could defend themselves, which for Singapore was around 1989, and Brunei finally became an independent country in 1984.

As to why there is no American involvement in FPDA is very simple [the US was already operating within the part overlapping SEATO context.]

[see this Wikipedia entry and this one. The latter Wiki entry includes: 

“Thailand was the third-largest provider of ground forces to South Vietnam, following the Americans and South Koreans [in 1967 – 1972].” ]

[Pete comment - Such was my ignorance I was unaware that Thais fought in Vietnam!].

[Later, Wikipedia indicates on Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia in 1978-79: 

"The [China supported] Khmer Rouge leadership, with much of its political and military structures shattered by the Vietnamese invasion, was forced to take refuge in Thailand. The Thai government under Kriangsak Chamanan accommodated the Khmer Rouge refugees, in exchange for a promise by [China's] Deng Xiaoping to end material support to Thailand's insurgent communists. Despite the overwhelming economic challenges brought by the Khmer Rouge and the accompanying refugees, the Thai Government sheltered and protected the Khmer Rouge at Khao Larn camp in Trat Province." ]