Singapore launches fourth and final Type 218SG submarine
RSS Inimitable during its launch in Kiel, Germany. (Photo: Singapore Ministry of Defence)
The era of southeast Asian submarine modernisation has been in full swing fuelled by growing tensions in the South China Sea.
Singapore has launched its fourth and final Invincible-class Type 218SG, a project decades in the making, as it continued attempts to build a ‘uniquely Singaporean’ boat.
The launch of RSS Inimitable at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) facilities in Kiel, German, was officiated by Teo Chee Hean, senior minister and coordinating minister for national security for Singapore, and was attended by German defence minister Boris Pistorius.
The first-of-class RSS Invincible was launched in February 2019, followed by RSS Impeccableand RSS Illustrious in December 2022. Invincible will stay in Kiel for training purposes while Impeccable returned to Singapore in 2023 and
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