Kyle Mizokami, in his June 25, 2019 Popular Mechanics article, unfortunately was incorrect in predicting Japanese submarine class "29SS" would have a "sail... substantially reduced and blended into the hull". Also 29SS means the 29th year of the era of the former Japanese Emperor "Heisei" NOT a submarine that would appear in 2029 or shortly after.
The Popular Mechanics in question claimed:
"... 29SS retains the general hull form of earlier submarines but with some important changes. The sail is substantially reduced and blended into the hull, which should reduce hydrodynamic drag."
The artwork of the sub with the expected 29SS blended sail used Kyle's Popular Mechanics article.
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"This will make the submarine quieter, perhaps a little faster, but also more energy efficient. Non-nuclear powered submarines, operating underwater under combat conditions, must carefully manage their power or risk being forced to surface. The dive planes have also been moved from what’s left of the sail to the hull.
...The research and development phase will take place from 2025 to 2028, and the first ship of this class will probably hit the water around 2031."
PETE COMMENT
Japan works on the basis of gradual, iterative, structural changes, submarine by submarine. So, 29SS, is only slightly different from the preceding sub 28SS (the final sub of the Soryu class). 29SS, launched in October 2020, turns out the first sub of the Taigei-class (see the Table below).
Note, 26 seconds into the youtube here and above, there are only slight outer structural differences with a very Soryu-like sail for Taigei class 29SS (SS-513).
Also note that while some of Japan's subs partly rely on air independent propulsion (AIP) indicated below, all of Japan's subs use diesel engines. It is not either/or.
Oyashio-Soryu-Taigei TABLE as at October 16, 2021.
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 | 8105 Oyashio | 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 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 Dragon class Mk I | 8116 | SS-501 | ¥60B FY2004 all Mk.1 LAB+AIP Soryus have 2 x Kawasaki 4,240kW) + 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 | KHI | |||
25SS | 8124 | SS-509 | ¥53.1B FY2013 | LABs + AIP | 22 Oct 2013 | 12 Oct 2016 | MHI | |
26SS | 8125 | SS-510 | LABs + AIP | 2014 | 6 Nov 2017 | KHI | ||
27SS a Soryu "Mk II" as it has LIBs. 1st Soryu Mk II | 8126 | SS-511 | 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 | 2020 | MHI |
28SS Soryu Mk II, final Soryu | 8127 | SS-512 | NCA? LIBs | Jan 2017 | KHI | |||
29SS 1st 3,000 tonne (surfaced) | 8128 Taigei | SS-513 | ¥76B FY2017 (Heisei 29) Higher ¥76B budget may be due to 1st of class many changes & new layout of LIBs. 2 x 12V25/25SB diesels or variants (totaling | SLH LIBs maybe 960 | month?in 2017 | 14 Oct 2020 | Mar 2022 | MHI |
30SS 2nd Taigei Class | 8129? Hakugei | SS-514 | SLH LIBs | 2018? | March? 2023 | KHI | ||
01SS 3rd Taigei Class | SS-515 | ¥B? FY2019 (Reiwa 01) | SLH LIBs maybe 960+ | 2019? | 2022? | 2024? | MHI | |
02SS 4th Taigei Class | 8130? | SS-516 | Impro ved SLH LIBs | 2020? | 2022? | 2024? | KHI? | |
03SS | 8131? | SS-517 | ¥B? FY2021 | LIBs | 2021? | 2023? | 2025? | KHI? |
04SS | 8132? | SS-518 | ¥B? FY2022 | LIBs | 2022? | 2024? | 2026? | MHI? |
05SS | 8133? | SS-519 | ¥B? FY2023 | LIBs | 2023? | 2025? | 2027? | KHI? |
06SS | 8134? | SS-520 | ¥B? FY2024 | LIBs | 2024? | 2026? | 2028? | MHI? |
07SS | 8135? | SS-521 | ¥B? FY2025 | LIBs | 2025? | 2027? | 2029? | KHI? |
08SS | 8136? | SS-522 | ¥B? FY2026 | LIBs | 2026? | 2028? | 2030? | MHI? |
Key to Table: Table information provided by Anonymous 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.
¥***B = Billion Yen. MHI = Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, KHI = Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
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Pete
From a Japanese perspective I seriously doubt that they will christen the new boat as Kamikaze.
ReplyDeleteThey have various other divine names they can select like Byako(白虎）, Houo(鳳凰）, Shoukaku (翔鶴),Suzaku (朱雀) etc.
Why would the JMSDF take a name with such negative incantation with it?
Shoukaku or the Rising Crane has been used christen to an WW2 aircraft carrier so I believe it has a better chance to be used considering the present naming format.
One more thing if it's going to be laid down in the mid to late 2020's then MHI may consider adopting Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction for power;
ReplyDeletehttps://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/scientists-in-the-us-and-japan-get-serious-about-lowenergy-nuclear-reactions
Hello Pete,
ReplyDeleteGranted you are more immersed in this subject, but I'm surprised you're so dire about the effectiveness of AIP/LIB subs.
First, the endurance limitations seem not as much of a problem, as the Japanese subs will be basically operating in Japan's backyard (they do not have to range across Pacific Ocean like in World War II.)
Second, running on battery, with the pumpjet, they coud be quieter than SSNs--especially, Chinese SSNs. So they could expect to detect and get the first shot, then head for home which would hopefully not be far away.
Of course, after the ambush phase of an engagement, they are at risk of being outrun and outmaneuvered by SSNs.
It's interesting the Japanese aren't interested in combing LIB with AIP to help take the edge off the long-distance endurance problem. Probably it takes up too much space and adds to great an expense to be worth it.
Another thing I noticed researching a piece on ASW in the Falkland Wars is that British SSNs were constantly surfacing to receive/transmit intel, scan with periscope, at the expense of their theoretical stealth/endurance advantage. Of course that may reflect context-specific technology and doctrine.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Hello Pete,
ReplyDeleteGranted you are more immersed in this subject, but I'm surprised you're so dire about the effectiveness of AIP/LIB subs.
First, the endurance limitations seem not as much of a problem, as the Japanese subs will be basically operating in Japan's backyard (they do not have to range across Pacific Ocean like in World War II.)
Second, running on battery, with the pumpjet, they coud be quieter than SSNs--especially, Chinese SSNs. So they could expect to detect and get the first shot, then head for home which would hopefully not be far away.
Of course, after the ambush phase of an engagement, they are at risk of being outrun and outmaneuvered by SSNs.
It's interesting the Japanese aren't interested in combing LIB with AIP to help take the edge off the long-distance endurance problem. Probably it takes up too much space and adds to great an expense to be worth it.
Another thing I noticed researching a piece on ASW in the Falkland Wars is that British SSNs were constantly surfacing to receive/transmit intel, scan with periscope, at the expense of their theoretical stealth/endurance advantage. Of course that may reflect context-specific technology and doctrine.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
That is not a good name. The wind may be divine but it did not change the final outcome, even in desperation. Are the writings on the wall?
ReplyDeleteThere are some press reports, to be confirmed, that China did actual tests of ballistic anti ship missiles (DF21D?) in the Spratly naval exercises that are going on.
KQN