There have been recent updates to two major Republic of Singapore (RSN) procurement programs, the Multirole Combat Vessel (MRCV) and the Invincible-class (Type-218SG) AIP SSK.
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| screenshot from Saab video |
Saab announces contract for MRCV composite superstructure.
We've been tracking Singapore’s MRCV project for several years. From speculation in 2020, the project’s official announcement in 2023, to the start of construction in March 2024.
Saab has now announced that it will provide the composite superstructure for the six MRCVs, highlighting the forward superstructure, which includes the bridge and integrated sensor mast.
Note that this video is a modification of the official MRCV video graphics released last year and does not show the final ship design.
Saab provided the composite superstructure for Singapore’s Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessels (LMV), which uses an integrated Command Centre for Bridge, CIC and Engineering control, which is explained in the following video:
With the far larger MRCV, battle space management will be its primary role, with multiple sensors, UAV/UUV/USVs and weapons operating simultaneously. I thus expect the class to use a Combat Management Centre separate from bridge control.
A unique agreement sees Saab, in partnership with OMT, as the developers of the overall concept design, while ST Engineering handles production, procurement and system integration. Singapore’s Defense Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has project oversight.
The MRCV project will see six vessels join the RSN from 2028, replacing the Victory Class Missile Corvettes. Naval News, with its detailed coverage from 4th May IMDEX 2023, has indicated that the MRCVs will be large ships with 10,000-tonne displacement.
The First Type 218SG sub is the second to arrive in Singapore.
According to Janes, the first-in-class Type 218SG SSK has made the journey from Keil, Germany to Singapore on the heavy transport ship MV Rolldock Star.
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| Image: posted on 'X' @DarthFreder |
Invincible was launched by TKMS in February 2019, and remained in German waters to conduct crew training for the new submarine class. RSS Impeccable, the second boat, was launched in December 2022, and arrived in Singapore in July 2023, on the MV Rolldock Storm, is expected to commission at the end of this year.
With Invincible now in Singapore, it is conceivable that both Type 218SG submarines will commission together, and replace the last two Challenger-class boats (ex-Sjoormen-class), RSS Conqueror and RSS Chieftain, which were launched in 1967/68 and have served Singapore for twenty years.
The last two Type 218SG boats are still in TKMS yard hands in Kiel, Germany. RSS Illustrious was launched simultaneously with RSS Impeccable in 2022, and probably took over crew training, while RSS Inimitable, launched in March 2024, is currently dockside fitting out. It’s likely that once the fourth boat has completed its builder’s trials, both subs will ship to Singapore together, likely in early 2025.
Hi Shawn
ReplyDeleteA very interesting article.
I'm so envious. Singapore builds warships locally on time, on budget. Or alternatively Singapore organises the efficient Germans to build the 218SG "Invincible-class" subs on time on budget.
This is a depressing contrast to Australia's late, overbudget shipbuilding traditions, which is more about Coalition and Labor doling out regional development funding to the swing states of Western and South Australia. Also in Labor's case make-work schemes to please the shipbuilding unions.
Though I recall the Anzac-class frigates [1] were built on time and budget in Victoria. But even Labor takes Victoria for granted seeing it as a safe left leaning state. So Victoria has since been ignored, even by Labor, for new shipbuilding projects.
Cheers Pete
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac-class_frigate
Singapore is a bit more opaque about government spending than Australia, and what’s basically a single party system allows for the planning of decades long projects. The Invincible class project is a case in point - eleven years from purchase agreement the last boat is fitting out - this is no mean feat considering the Covid pandemic slowed things down.
ReplyDeleteAustralia’s issue has always been political, and more about spending public money ‘for the lads’. The Singapore government does this as well, but rather than having young National Servicemen (a finite resource) cook their own meals, it’s outsourced to an ST subsidiary - so an entire logistics branch is removed (alongside strangely fat logistics NCOs) and the food quality has vastly improved.
Same with ship maintenance - keep combat crews small as any major maintenance or repairs are handled by the yard.
There have been screw-ups, the cost of hosting the Youth Olympics is often brought up, and the ‘Circle’ subway line that will make its final connection in 2026, 24 years after the start of construction.
Nevertheless, I have noticed military procurement is more overt in the last decade, as the basic defense policy has changed from Poison Shrimp (you can swallow us, but it’s going to hurt) to Porcupine (anybody who throws a punch gets back a bloody stump) to Dolphin (agility and counterpunch).
Advertising just how good your military defense pays off as Singapore is now an incredibly safe country to live in, park your investments or host your data centres - both Dyson and Alibaba Cloud are headquartered in Singapore.
It is remarkable how large (at 10,000 tonnes full load) the Multirole Combat Vessel (MRCV) will be. It will be as large as an Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyer [1] and even as large as a Ticonderoga-class cruiser [2] which displaces 9,800 tonnes full load.
ReplyDeleteI can count only 18 VLS hatches in some MRCV models and artworks. I wonder how many VLS will be incorporated all up?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arleigh_Burke-class_destroyer
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticonderoga-class_cruiser
Pete,
DeleteAs I mentioned, the CGI artwork isn't the final product, we will probably not know the extent of the weapons fit until after the first MRCV commissions.
Naval News just published an article on the MRCV that shows its design heritage from the Visby and Absolon/Iver Huitfeldt classes - the Huitfeldts have 32 SM2 IIIA and 24 ESSM, so my guesstimate would be 48-64 Aster 30 and 24-48 MICA-M NG missiles. A 76mm Oto Melera Strales will handle SHORAD, while there could be lasers, APKWS, 30/35mm cannons for CIWS.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2024/09/dsta-reveals-origins-of-singapores-mrcv/
It was previously reliably reported by Naval News (and seen + discussed at the Saab booth at Singapore Airshow 2024) that the MRCV's "onboard" fit will be: SeaFire, Super Rapido Strales A-Gun, PASEO XLR, New Generation Dagaie System.
DeleteAdditionally, from the model at the Saab booth, 32 VLS cells probably of the Sylver variety will be fitted. According to Naval News and interaction with critical Saab personnell, Aster 30 Block 1NT and MICA-NG VL are its missiles. The model also features a "magic deck" probably as large as the FFS's, which are confirmed to carry Blue Spear.
Big picture is that the onboard fit will be equivalent to the upgraded Formdiable Class in all domains except subsurface.
The mass difference will be allocated to the unpublicised offboard systems, though it was previously reported and confirmed that one particular USV would be one of the systems carried aboard - it might have been Protector or something like that.
All that said and done, I still think the RSN doesn't have enough flash and oomph (plus young boys and girls of the compulsorily conscripted kind, reallocated by the Central Manpower Bureau as crew) to really deal with the worst probable threat in Asia as it develops over the next decade.
Thanks Shawn at 9/06/2024 8:27 PM
ReplyDeleteThe Aster 30 appears a bit puzzling - reading the right sidebar of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aster_(missile_family) the warhead is only " 15 kg focused fragmented warhead with 2 m lethal radius". But surely this is the anti-missile and anti-drone warhead.
Otherwise even the warhead of the old Harpoon missile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpoon_(missile) would have much more punch, anti-ship warhead weighing in at (right sidebar) "221 kg".
Cheers Pete
Aster 30's warhead is small even compared to SM-2 (~130kg) or ESSM's (~39kg).
DeleteIt was considered by MBDA to be only a "lethality enhancer", since the Aster family was originally designed to be hit-to-kill, using body-to-body kinetic energy transfer for killing, hence the PIF-PAF rocket attitude divert system.
The MICA's warhead is 3kg lighter still.
As for antiship missiles, Blue Spear is said to have an even lighter warhead than Harpoon, in the "150kg class", about 50% lighter. This is despite Blue Spear being about twice as heavy as Harpoon.
However, specific ship kill techniques have become very sophisticated since the time of Harpoon's basic blast warhead. Some modern antiship warheads project very high velocity self-formed fragments with incendiary effect, via a special, dimpled looking sheath, in all directions. This penetrates deep into the ship, severing key links and destroying critical components, potentially hitting fuel and ammo, on top of the blast effect. What remains of the missile airframe and fuel spreads through the voids.
Pete,
ReplyDeleteRSS Invincible and RSS Impeccable have been commissioned.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/s-pore-navy-commissions-first-two-invincible-class-submarines
Cheers
TW
Hi TW at 9/24/2024 10:22 PM
ReplyDeleteIt is an embarrassing efficiency lesson to Australia that Singapore only took 11 years from announcing the Type 218SGs in 2013 to the commissioning of RSS Invincible and RSS Impeccable in 2024.
In comparison Australia floated the idea of 12 SSKs in the 2009 Defence White Paper had two abortive starts (with Japan in 2013 and France in 2016) and had achieved nothing in 2009 + 11 years = 2020
In terms of actually NEW submarines Australia will only have 5 or 6 mainly UK designed SSN AUKUSes in around 2050.
Like the Singaporean government the Australian government will run a vessel naming competition.
I will enter the following names early without the usual $100,000 PR fee:
HMAS Taiwan Sacrifice
HMAS America
HMAS Stars and Stripes
HMAS MAGA Trump
HMAS Late and Overbudget
and
HMAS Ruptured Reactor
Can others think of other catchy names?
Cheers Pete
Pete, I'm coming up with an article, but there's two points to take note:
ReplyDelete1. This is not IOC, this is a full commision, so both boats are now ready for operational service.
2. Mike Yeo's article specifically mentions 'lead-acid batteries'.. reckon this could be a red herring, or more likely, Li-ion wasn't ready when the contract was agreed in 2013, and the batteries could be updated in a few years.
Hi Shawn
DeleteThanks for the info. The rapidity to full commission speaks volumes for the efficiency of the Singapore Navy and for TKMS. If Singapore had bought the new technology Saab-Kockums A26 is might have experienced all the initial delays and major adjustments Australia experienced with another Kockums product, the Collins submarine.
I don't know if retrofitting Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) would involve too many major and expensive adjustments. As there is no precedent.
Regards Pete
Hi retortPouch at 9/29/2024 8:32 PM and 9/29/2024 9:07 PM
ReplyDeleteThanks for all that information on missile types for Singapore, numbers of them and warhead weights.
Regards Pete