Vastergotland-class submarines with AIP
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I think both Vastergotland class an our topicalised "Challenger" class sub are having a lot in similarities eg combat system and automation systems. Thus, the hardware convertion and upgrade programme on Vastergotland subs will be more focus on the "AIP" add-on modules. I bet that all the Swed subs are sharing a lot of common spare parts, thus this would help to reduce the Sg crew training / familiarising time on the Vastergotland Sub.
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Now there is one problem i foresee with getting used boats.
Their acoustic signature probably already exists on the databases of navies that operate submarine fleets. Which means, it may actually be easier to detect and identify our boats. -
To what i know, couldn't the refurbishment take care of the prop noise. I mean they could change the existing propeller to a quieter model. Better engineering technology and i am sure that ST Marine would have some capability to design a new proper so the question of the signature being store by others is a moot point.
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Propeller is only one part of it. The engine is usually the giveaway. But since diesel boats are relatively quiet when operating on batteries, the only chance of being identified is when the boat is snorkeling.
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Recalled there was this big hoo ha over the japs selling some high tech milling machines to the then USSR. allowed them to manufacture quieter props. The US got into a fit over the sale. Think someone in sg was involved (third party? transhipment point?).
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No surprise the US would get a fit. Their subs used to track russian subs all over the seas. At least those that sailed further were the nuke boats and were noisier, hence easier to track.
I'd think its a pretty tense game, tracking another sub. Who knows what will happen if u get discovered in ur adversary's backyard? -
Kena chased out ala Chinese sub and JMSDF?
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If it happens during peacetime, I would try to capture the boat and the crews and put them to shame using international media. Bring the case to international tribunal and demand apology and compensation from the country who send their sub into our backyard.Originally posted by Shotgun:No surprise the US would get a fit. Their subs used to track russian subs all over the seas. At least those that sailed further were the nuke boats and were noisier, hence easier to track.
I'd think its a pretty tense game, tracking another sub. Who knows what will happen if u get discovered in ur adversary's backyard? -
not easy to capture a sub tho
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Its quite hard to capture the boat lar... The captain can die die dun surface.
But u can sink it and say that it was in a live firing exercise area. U didn't expect their submarine to be in UR territorial waters. -
Singapore mulls Swedish submarine purchase
fr NAVAL FORCES NEWS - 14 OCTOBER 2005
Sweden and Singapore are believed to be close to concluding a deal for the transfer of two Type A 17 Vastergotland-class submarines to the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 7 October 2005]
www.janes.com/defence/naval_forces -
Singapore's Super Subs
November 7, 2005: Singapore will buy 2 Swedish A-17 Vastergotland submarines, which are expected to enter service starting in 2010, replacing some of current Challenger-class submarines. This fits into Singapore's traditional method of acquiring new capabilities, where old refurbished platforms are first purchased to gain operational experience before newer weapons systems are acquired.
In 1995, Singapore purchased 4 A-11 Challenger Class (ex-Sjöbjörnen Class), the first of which was launched in 1968. The Challenger Class were not only refitted for tropical conditions, but also received weapons system and sensor upgrades. These submarines performed very well in exercises against US Navy and Royal Australian Navy units, proving that these old boats, when handled well in littoral conditions, are quiet and maneuverable subs that are able to give a pretty good account of themselves.
Of the 4 submarines in the Vastergotland class that Sweden built between 1987 and 1990, the first two boats, the HMS HMS Vastergotland and HMS Halsingland were taken out of Royal Swedish Navy active service in 2004, while the other two, the HMS Sodermanland and HMS Ostergotland, received such significant upgrades in 2003-2004 that they are considered a new class.
In particular, apart from weapons system and stealth system improvements, these boats received a 12 metre (36 foot) hull extension in order to use the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion System, making them, along with the 3 submarines of the follow on A-19 Gotland Class, probably the quietest and most advanced conventional submarines currently in operational service the world. The Stirling AIP system is a propulsion system that uses diesel fuel and Liquid Oxygen in a closed system, and greatly increases a conventional submarine's submerged endurance. With AIP systems, conventional submarines can go for weeks without having to surface or snorkel in order to recharge their batteries.
Singapore has purchased the deactivated HMS Vastergotland and HMS Halsingland, and it is more than likely that part of the upgrades that these boats will receive will include the Stirling AIP hull extension, making them virtually identical to the Sodermanland Class. This means that by 2010, the RSN will be operating two of the quietest and most lethal conventional submarines in the world, and probably at a pretty good price - definitely below the cost of a new Gotland sub, which has been suggested at $100 million each, while the German U-212 Class has been estimated at $250 million a copy.
Just how lethal will these subs be? Well, take into consideration that the state-of-the-art Gotland Class, which is essentially an improved Vastergotland Class with the Stirling AIP system incorporated from the beginning, is considered so quiet and so deadly that the USN has leased the HMS Gotland for a year in order to practice and develop its ASW tactics against a first class opponent.
from Strategy Page
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/articles/20051107.aspx -
Good read.. thanks