Second Archer Class Submarine Commissioned By Singapore

The RSS Swordsman, the second Archer class diesel-electric submarine has been commissioned in Singapore, where it will join the RSS Archer, which was commissioned in 2011.

The two submarines are the former Västergötland class submarines from the Swedish Navy. They were commissioned in the late eighties and sold to Singapore in 2005.

They have been adopted to local conditions, refurbished and upgraded by Sweden's Kockums before being delivered to Singapore. The Archer class specifications are:

• A crew of 28
• A length of 60.5 m
• A beam of 6.1 m
• A speed of 8 kn surfaced and 15 kn submerged
• A displacement of 1400 tonnes surfaced and 1500 tonnes submerged

The hull has also been extended to accommodate a Swedish Stirling Air Independent Propulsion module to allow the submarines to stay submerged for extended periods of time.

Besides the Archer class, Singapore also has four Challenger class diesel-electric submarines in service since the late nineties. The Challenger class specifications are:

• A crew of 28
• A length of 51 m
• A beam of 6.1 m
• A speed of 10 kn surfaced and 16 kn submerged
• A displacement of 1130 tonnes surfaced and 1200 tonnes submerged

These too were formerly in Swedish service as the Sjöormen class.



http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/press_room/official_releases/nr/2013/apr/30apr13_nr.html

By Peter Nilsson (Kockums AB) [Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons