On July 8, 2023 David Boey reported on his blog the arrival of RSS Impeccable the first Invincible-class submarine to enter Singapore waters. This was on heavy lift ship Rolldock Storm.
The Singapore Armed Forces appeared to implement extensive security measures to screen the RSS Impeccable from the wrong viewers. Steel modules and containers were used to cover the hull and fin/sail of the 70m long submarine.
[Pete Comment: Tight security could be because Impeccable has some of the "diamond hull" radar and sonar reflection characteristics that TKMS and its customers see as a major stealth advance in the latest TKMS subs. Also anechoic coating and hull sonars might be worth keeping secret for as long as possible. Meanwhile Impeccable's fin/sail has already been caught on Singapore Ministry of Defence camera as it entered Singapore Harbour (below).
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First of class RSS Invincible itself is being used as a Singapore crew training vessel in Kiel, Germany. This may be until sister boats RSS Illustrious and Inimitable have been completed and delivered to Singapore.
A Singapore Mindef News Release reports Impeccable had its official "welcome home" ceremony on July 20, 2023.]
Shawn reckons one of the two remaining Challenger class submarines, RSS Conqueror or RSS Chieftain, will retire by the end of this year, as they are both over 55 years old. They were originally launched in the 1960s in their previous Swedish Sjöormen-class lives.
Some Singapore Military History
Speaking more generally Shawn advises when Singapore became an independent republic in August 1965 Singapore had to create its own defence structure and culture. Singapore approached much larger countries, Egypt and India, but those countries differed vastly in land area and population. It was Israel that had more similarities including the very high level of education and per capita GDP that Singapore planned.
Israeli defence advice was extensive. Also with Singapore's limited military age population it needed to adopt an Israeli/Swiss National Conscription/Reservist system.
Like Israel Singapore gets the most out of limited numbers of servicemen by having significant amounts of high quality equipment. That includes good French stealth frigates, submarines from Sweden and Germany; more Leopard 2 tanks than Australia has Abrams; US F-15s, F-16s, C-130s, F-35Bs (on order); and US Apache, Chinook and Seahawk helicopters, to name a few.
[Pete Comment: "Other" ties with Anglo countries and Israel are reputedly of a high level.]
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