Please see the Oyashio-Soryu-Taigei TABLE below in recognition of the launch of the second Taigei-class Japanese submarine, Hakugei, on October 14, 2021.
Also first of class JS Taigei itself was commissioned on March 9, 2022.
Mike Yeo, for DefenseNews wrote a very useful analysis on October 15, 2021 putting Hakugei's launch in perspective:
"MELBOURNE, Australia – Japan has launched the second of a new class of diesel-electric submarines exactly one year to the day that the lead boat of the lithium-ion powered series took to the water.
The new submarine, which has been named the Hakugei, or White Whale, was launched at Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipyard in the city of Kobe on [October 14, 2021] Japan time. The submarine will now undergo final construction and sea trials before commissioning into the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force or JMSDF, which is planned for March 2023.
The Hakugei is the second Taigei-class submarine. This is a 3,000-ton, diesel-electric attack submarine measuring 84 meters (275 feet) long, and was previously known as the 29SS class, named after the 29th year of Emperor Akihito’s reign in Japan.
The first boat of the class, the Taigei, was launched in October 2020 and began sea trials in July this year. It is expected to be commissioned in March 2022.
The commissioning will allow the JMSDF to continue efforts to recapitalize its submarine fleet, with the service keeping some older boats in service as it brought the number of submarines in service to 22.
The decision to increase the JMSDF submarine force from 16 boats was announced in the 2010 national defense program guidelines. It comes as Japan continues to cast a wary eye on China’s military modernization and increasing assertiveness in the region.
Like the last two boats of the preceding Soryu-class and the Taigei, the Hakugei will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries as a power source. Japan has conducted extensive research into the use of lithium-ion batteries on submarines since the early 2000s, and says they require less maintenance and are capable of longer endurance at high speeds while submerged compared to lead-acid batteries.
It is currently the only known country to have operational submarines using lithium-ion batteries.
The upsized submarine force will comprise eight older Oyashio-class submarines, twelve Soryus and the two Taigei-class boats. Japan has already laid down one more Taigei-class submarine and has funding approved for two more, the latest being $602.3 million allocated for one more boat in the defense ministry’s latest budget."
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Submarine Matters' Oyashio-Soryu-Taigei TABLE as at May 9, 2022.
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 | 9 Mar 2022 | MHI |
30SS 2nd Taigei Class | 8129? Hakugei | SS-514 | SLH LIBs | 2018? | March? 2023 | KHI | ||
31/01SS 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? |
¥***B = Billion Yen. MHI = Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, KHI = Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
9 comments:
Hi Pete,
I was looking through a transcript of an Investors Conference Q&A conducted by India's Mazagon Docks Ltd. (MDL), Mumbai - the yard that builds the 6 x Scorpene-class SSKs for the Indian Navy (3 commissioned, 3 under various stages of build & trials).
Apparently, the 6 x new diesel submarines being sought under Project-75I will have to be equipped with Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) in place of Lead-Acid ones as a mandatory requirement, alongside inclusion of an AIP module.
While the AIP part was known, this is the first time I'm hearing about the LIB requirement.
The full transcript is available here:
https://mazagondock.in/images/pdf/investor-update-call-transcript-29062021.pdf
A snap of the relevant part:
https://ibb.co/pwCK4Bf
Note that this was in June this year, and several updates have taken place with regard to the program since this, such as the issuance of a Request For Proposal (RFP) and the German TKMS excusing themselves from the competition for whatever reason, leaving 4 parties in the fray (Naval Group of France, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of South Korea, Navantia of Spain and RUBIN Design Bureau of Russia).
+++
On the topic of P-75I, Mr. H.I. Sutton has come out with a good article detailing the 4 options available: A diesel-electric Barracuda/SMX 3.0-based customized design, the DSME-3000/KSS-III, S-80 Plus & the Amur-class.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/10/the-4-submarines-competing-for-the-indian-navys-p-75i-program/
Do note that even though the article emphasizes a VLS module requirement for cruise missiles, I've been unable to verify this as a legitimate requirement from any official source. In fact the variant of DSME-3000 being offered by the South Koreans lacks any VLS module, telling as all we need to know about the requirement, or lack thereof:
https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/madex-2021/2021/06/madex-2021-dsme-sheds-light-on-submarine-offer-to-india-for-p-75i/
I must say, I do believe the French offer to be the most lucrative. The model of submarine that Mr. Sutton has depicted in his graphic has its hydroplanes located on the sail (instead of on the bow like on the Australian Shortfin variant) - this is in line with the SMX 3.0 - a diesel/AIP boat that Naval Group showed at DEFEXPO-2020 in India last year:
https://www.naval-group.com/en/naval-group-exhibits-defexpo-2020-771
The SMX 3.0 appears to be a sort of "Improved Scorpene" - displacing around 3,000-3,500 tons with FC2G Fuel Cell AIP and incorporating many design elements taken from the Barracuda program, like the X-form tail rudders, new larger flank array sonars & redesigned sail. I believe Mr. Sutton has taken the renewed commitment given by France to support India's "Strategic Autonomy, including its Industrial & Technological base***" (in the immediate aftermath of AUKUS) into account in incorporating a Pump-jet propulsor on the design.
Considering it's likely to have a significant degree of commonality with the existing Kalvari-class (Scorpene) SSKs that are already being built in India, plus the already built-up supply chain of Naval Group-certified component manufacturers & offset partners present in the country (who supplied for the Scorpene program) would make the French offer likely the quickest to get off the ground, should they win.
Of course, they'll have to go through the Indian Navy's evaluation of their AIP offer, and proof of concept for a workable & reliable LIB package. And given the timelines, who knows, maybe they'll say the winning bidder will have to incorporate the DRDO's own PAFC-based AIP into the boat. On that front, the French already agreed to implement the Indian AIP into Scorpene during its first refit, so they could be in a good position there too.
*** https://in.ambafrance.org/Telephone-conversation-with-Mr-Narendra-Modi-Prime-Minister-of-India
Hi Gessler
As you indicate H I Sutton has indeed responded to this latest Indian Project-75I selection ploy.
For my part I comment that India's glacial paced (AIP tech transfer attempt called) Project-75I:
- has reacted against the Withdrawal (a few months ago) from Shortlist Ultimatum of Germany, France, Spain and Russia
- that would have left only South Korea.
- even though Russia, France, Spain and DRDO don't have the Operational At-Sea 2nd Gen AIP that India was insisting on
India has re-included France, Russia and Spain to provide a veneer of competition and some semblance of "progress" since 75I began in 2008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_75I-class_submarine#History
Germany is correct in not trusting India, concerning in India's full AIP tech transfer requirements. The risk being that India would hand over Germany's Fuel Cell AIP secrets to India's main ally Russia.
Meanwile can India wait another decade for Russia's, France (2nd gen), Spain's and DRDO's AIP to actually be ready?
All this still leaving South Korea the only viable short-list-ee since 2008?
Pete
I remember the days when people used to say during MMRCA tender that there is no hope for Rafale, and the most likely winner be MiG-35 or Eurofighter, and from price PoV, it going to be SH.
But surprisingly, and unexpectedly Rafale won. Arguments were quite similar during those days.
All military purchases in the whole world are political, no one buys things considering only capabilities. It is the surprising assumption that the ultimatum came from France or Russia( the only 2 countries which MEA listens to, the other 3 don't matter), and not the NSA/PMO office. And seriously if they threatened India like that, India already cancelled the project, cleared 6-8 SSN (instead of 3), which the NSA office and CDS always wanted.
As for Germany, if they seriously pulled out because of it, then I can say they only shot themselves in the foot, they are only ahead in AIP tech than their competitors, in all other areas including sensors/optronics French is light years ahead. And the case is when French is ready to share that. If Germans seriously assumed this, then they misunderstanding the whole weapons market, might be that's why Eurofighter failed during MMRCA. :P
H I has been a busy boy, his YouTube video of modern Japanese Submarine history is quite enlightening:
https://youtu.be/bRl7jV8mcSY
At this moment, I wouldn’t bet against Naval Group offering India a complete Baraccuda SSN design. After all, it’s cheaper than converting it to diesel…
Hi Shawn C
1. Yes H I Sutton's Video at https://youtu.be/bRl7jV8mcSY is very interesting. Its about Japanese Postwar Submarines 13 min 31 seconds long and very current, dated October 16, 2021. At 12:14 grouping different classes the subs is a good approach.
2. Re your separate point "At this moment, [you] wouldn’t bet against Naval Group offering India a complete Baraccuda SSN design." If I were a Russian nuke sub designer or Russ Admiral I would be overjoyed to get my hands on a Barrucuda SSN via India.
This is considering ongoing and intensive Russian-Indian technology transfer of nuke sub hulls, reactors and all other sub tech since the 1980s.
It should not be forgotten that France is part of NATO, Russia's enemy. If France sold a Barracuda SSN to India then Russia would have access to all the French Navy's Barracuda's audio and other secret emissions from all positions.
Cheers
Pete
Hi Arpit Kanodia
Yes I remember the MMRCA "1.0" well. See this Submatts' article way back in 2011-2012 https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2011/06/different-f-35-stealth-features-to.html
Your comment is very true that "All military purchases in the whole world are political, no one buys things considering only capabilities."
And the larger the purchase prices and more sensitive the technology the More Political things are. Therefore AUKUS nuke sub (to be)
is top rating for price, sensitivity, hence politically.
I would say Russia will be India's main SSN (Project-75 Alpha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_75_Alpha ) helper.
India will likely produce an SSN about 5-10 years sooner than the AUKUS sub.
Regards
Pete
Not only Russia, if SSN gets clearance, then the French too will be the main beneficiary.
Regarding, your answer to Shawn, I don't know why people thought that India asked or French offered Barracuda to India, I don't know why any country does that. Neither India asked for it, the know-how and know why already exist for designing, developing an SSN in India, WEESE/Tata India even developed CMS for SSBN, which is a far complex thing than a CMS for SSNs. And I don't think India ever asked for reactor tech from France, what India asking for adoption of new tech like IEP, pump-jet propulsor, new precision machines for fabricating hull, and training HR in refining wielding.
Even I be very very surprised if, in AUKAS, UK sells a direct copy of Astute to Aussie, it be a very different and toned down copy of that.
@Pete,
You know, I didn't realise that.. the Russians must now be crawling all over the Rafales that France recently delivered to India, as well as the P-8 Poseidons India bought from the US. The IAF has flown the SU-30MKI in air combat exercises against USAF F-22 Raptors, so I'm sure Russia got all the sensor dope.
Hi Shawn C [at Oct 19, 2021, 3:40:00 AM]
Spot on.
India is a source of cash AND maybe source of Western Mil-Technical intel for Russia.
And perhaps of Russian Mil-Tech intel (eg. SU-30MKI) for the US.
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