According to information published by the Singapore Government on December 20, 2021, the German Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral (VADM) Kay-Achim Schönbach, called on Singapore Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Singapore Ministry of Defence on December 20, 2021. During their meeting, Dr Ng and VADM Schönbach reaffirmed efforts in bilateral defence cooperation such as in submarine training and defence technology.
According to the Military Balance 2020, currently, the Singapore Navy has four submarines including two Challenger-class (ex-SWE Sjoormen) from the Swedish Navy and two 2 Archer-class also former Swedish Navy submarines and known as the Västergötland-class. According to open sources information, two Invincible-class submarines were procured in November 2013 and another two in May 2017. The Invincible-class, also known as Type 218SG, is a submarine class ordered from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
The Invincible-class (also known as Type 218SG) is a class of submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP) ordered by the Republic of Singapore Navy from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Type 218SG is based on the design of the Type 216 concept submarine from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft. Four submarines were ordered and the lead vessel RSS Invincible was launched in February 2019.
The Invincible-class submarine has a length of 70 m, a beam f 6.3 m and a maximum displacement of 2,200 tones. She can reach a submerged speed of 15 knots (28 km/h). The submarine has a crew of 28 people and is equipped with eight torpedo tubes.