Sōryū-class submarine

Soryu-class profile
Hakuryū (SS-503) visits Pearl Harbor, Feb 2013
Class overview
Name	Sōryū
Builders	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation
Operators	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Preceded by	Oyashio-class submarine
Succeeded by	Taigei-class submarine
Built	2005 – 2019
In commission	2009 – Present
Planned	12
Completed	12
Active	12
General characteristics
Type	Attack submarine
Displacement	Surfaced: 2,900 tonnes (2,854 long tons) Submerged: 4,200 t (4,134 long tons)
Length	84.0 m (275 ft 7 in)
Beam	9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Draught	8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	1-shaft 2× Kawasaki 12V 25/25 SB-type diesel engines diesel-electric 4× Kawasaki Kockums V4-275R Stirling engines - up to Shōryū 3,900 hp (2,900 kW) surfaced 8,000 hp (6,000 kW) submerged
Speed	Surfaced: 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) Submerged: 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1]
Range	AIP endurance (est.): 6,100 nautical miles (11,300 km; 7,000 mi) at 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph)[1]
Complement	65 (9 officers, 56 enlisted)
Sensors and processing systems	ZPS-6F surface/low-level air search radar Hughes/Oki ZQQ-7 Sonar suite: 1× bow-array, 4× LF flank arrays and 1× Towed array sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	ZLR-3-6 ESM equipment 2× 3-inch underwater countermeasure launcher tubes for launching of Acoustic Device Countermeasures (ADCs)
Armament	6 × HU-606 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes with 30 reloads^[citation needed] for: Type 89 torpedo Harpoon (missile) Mines

The Sōryū-class submarines (16SS) are diesel-electric attack submarines. The first boat in the class entered service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in 2009. The design is an evolution of the Oyashio-class submarine, from which it can most easily be distinguished by its X-shaped stern combination diving planes and rudders. The Sōryūs have the largest displacement of any submarine used by post-war Japan.^[2]

The Sōryū-class is Japan's first air-independent propulsion submarine class. From Sōryū to Shōryū are fitted with Kockums Naval Solutions Stirling engines license-built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, allowing them to stay submerged for longer periods of time. The 11th submarine of the class, Ōryū, is the world's first lithium-ion battery submarine.^[3] The cost of the sixth submarine (Kokuryū) was estimated at US$540 million.^[4]

In 2023, the first of the replacements for the Sōryūs, the Taigei-class submarine,^[5] entered service.^[6]

Naming convention

Japanese submarines since World War II were named after ocean currents. The JMSDF changed its naming convention with the Sōryū,^[7] and submarines will now be named after mythological creatures. Sōryū (そうりゅう) means blue dragon in Japanese and shares its name with the World War II aircraft carrier Sōryū, sunk during the Battle of Midway.

Variants

The eleventh Sōryū-class submarine (Ōryū) is the first Japanese submarine in the fleet to mount lithium-ion batteries. The JS Ōryū was given a budget of ¥64.3 billion (equivalent to ¥65.55 billion or US$601.3 million in 2019)^[8] under the 2015 Japanese Defense Budget.^[9]

Lithium-ion batteries have almost twice the electric storage capacity of traditional lead-acid batteries. Updated Sōryū-class boats also added more batteries by placing them within hull spaces previously occupied by AIP system machinery. These upgraded boats benefited by increasing both the size and energy density of their battery storage. The change to lithium-ion improved the underwater endurance significantly and will be an advantage over the slow recharge capability of the AIP system.

In any event, JMSDF believes that lithium-ion is the way forward and intends to 'trial' this new system and compare it to the previous AIP system for operational effectiveness.

Exports

Japan offered Sōryū-class submarines to Australia as replacements for the Royal Australian Navy's Collins-class submarines, as part of the Collins-class submarine replacement project.^[10] On 9 April 2014, then-Australian Minister for Defence, David Johnston, described the Sōryū class as "extremely impressive"^[11] while discussing Australia's future submarine options. On 26 April 2016, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the Australian contract had been awarded to the French-designed Shortfin Barracuda,^[12] though this deal was eventually rescinded.

India, Morocco, Norway, Netherlands, and Taiwan have also approached Japan, and expressed an interest in buying Sōryū-class submarines.^[13] During a visit to Japan, India's then-Union Minister of Defence, Manohar Parrikar, invited the Japanese government to participate in their US$8.1 billion Project 75I-class submarine procurement program.^[14]

• 
  Zuiryū (SS-505) under construction
• 
  Hakuryū (SS-503) visiting Guam in 2013

Boats

Project no.	Building no.	Pennant no.	Name	Japanese	Namesake	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Home port	Notes
S131	8116	SS-501	Sōryū	そうりゅう	Blue Dragon	31 March 2005	5 December 2007	30 March 2009	Kure
	8117	SS-502	Unryū	うんりゅう	Cloud Dragon	31 March 2006	15 October 2008	25 March 2010[15]	Kure	These five submarines are equipped with a new sonar ZQQ-7B.
	8118	SS-503	Hakuryū	はくりゅう	White Dragon	6 February 2007	16 October 2009	14 March 2011	Kure
	8119	SS-504	Kenryū	けんりゅう	Sword Dragon	31 March 2008	15 November 2010	16 March 2012	Kure
	8120	SS-505	Zuiryū	ずいりゅう	Auspicious Dragon	16 March 2009	20 October 2011	6 March 2013	Yokosuka
	8121	SS-506	Kokuryū	こくりゅう	Black Dragon	21 January 2011	31 October 2013	9 March 2015	Yokosuka
	8122	SS-507	Jinryū	じんりゅう	Benevolent Dragon	14 February 2012	8 October 2014	7 March 2016	Kure	This submarine is equipped with a new sonar ZQQ-7B and a new satellite communication device.
	8123	SS-508	Sekiryū	せきりゅう	Red Dragon	15 March 2013	2 November 2015	13 March 2017[16]	Kure	This submarine is equipped with a new sonar ZQQ-7B, a new satellite communication device and new torpedo counter measures.
	8124	SS-509	Seiryū	せいりゅう	Pure Dragon	22 October 2013	12 October 2016	12 March 2018	Yokosuka
	8125	SS-510	Shōryū	しょうりゅう	Soaring Dragon	28 January 2015	6 November 2017	18 March 2019	Kure
	8126	SS-511	Ōryū	おうりゅう	Phoenix Dragon	16 November 2015	4 October 2018	5 March 2020	Kure	These two submarines utilize Li-ion battery propulsion technology
	8127	SS-512	Tōryū	とうりゅう	Fighting Dragon	27 January 2017	6 November 2019	24 March 2021	Yokosuka

See also

• List of submarine classes in service

Submarines of similar comparison

• Type 212 submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and exclusively built for the German Navy, the Italian Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy.
• Type 214 submarine - A class of export-oriented diesel-electric attack-submarines, also developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and currently operated by the Hellenic Navy, the Portuguese Navy, the Republic of Korea Navy and the Turkish Naval Forces.
• Type 218SG submarine - A class of extensively-customised diesel-electric attack-submarines developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and currently operated by the Republic of Singapore Navy.
• Dolphin-class submarine - A class of extensively-customised diesel-electric attack-submarines developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and currently operated by Israel.
• Dakar-class submarine - A unique class of diesel-electric attack-submarines developed by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and currently being built for Israel.
• Scorpène-class submarine - A class of export-oriented diesel-electric attack-submarines, jointly developed by Naval Group and Navantia and currently operated by the Chilean Navy, the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Indian Navy and the Brazilian Navy.
• S-80 Plus submarine - A class of conventionally-powered attack-submarines, currently being built by Navantia for the Spanish Navy.
• Blekinge-class submarine is a class of submarine developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy
• KSS-III submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack and ballistic missile submarines, built by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and operated by the Republic of Korea Navy.
• Taigei-class submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack submarines currently being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
• Type 039A submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy (China) and being built for the navies of the Royal Thai Navy and the Pakistan Navy.
• Lada-class submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines being built for the Russian Navy.
• Hai Kun-class submarine - A class of diesel-electric attack-submarines currently being built by CSBC for Taiwan.

References

1. Pike, John. "SS-501 Soryu / 16SS / SS 2,900 ton Class". www.globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
2. "SS Soryu Class Submarines". Naval Technology. 2017-09-03. Archived from the original on 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
3. Japan commissions first Soryu-class submarine equipped with lithium-ion batteries Jane's, 05 March 2020
4. "Japan launches newest submarine Kokuryu amid party atmosphere". The Japan Daily Press. 2013-11-04. Archived from the original on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
5. Mizokami, Kyle (2019-06-25). "Taking a Closer Look at Japan's Futuristic Attack Submarine". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Digital Media.
6. Roblin, Sebastien (2019-11-07). "Meet the 29SS: Japan's New Stealth Submarine". The National Interest.
7. 海上自衛隊訓令第30号 Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force
8. 1868 to 1938: Williamson J., Nominal Wage, Cost of Living, Real Wage and Land Rent Data for Japan 1831-1938, 1939 to 1945: Bank of Japan Historical Statistics Afterwards, Japanese Historical Consumer Price Index numbers based on data available from the Japanese Statistics Bureau. Japan Historical Consumer Price Index (CPI) – 1970 to 2014 Retrieved 30 July 2014. For between 1946 and 1970, from "昭和戦後史". Retrieved 2015-01-24.
9. "Japanese Ministry of Defense website, 2015 Defense Budget" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
10. "Japanese Media Now Openly Talking about Japan-Australia Soryu Deal". Asia Security Watch. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
11. "Government struggling to find replacement design for Collins Class subs: Defence Minister". ABC News. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
12. "France wins $50b contract to help build Australia's new submarines". The Age. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
13. Carlin, Maya (1 August 2024). "Japan's Soryu-Class Submarines are Among the Best Stealth Subs Ever". The National Interest. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
14. "India asks Japan to offer Soryu subs for Project 75I requirement - IHS Jane's 360". Archived from the original on 2015-01-31. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
15. "Submarine Unryu Delivered". Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. 2010-03-25. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
16. Japan receives Soryu-class attack submarine Archived 2017-04-24 at the Wayback Machine, Brahmand.com, 2017-03-16, accessed 2017-04-24

External links

• Japanese website with Diagram
• Globalsecurity.org
• Military-today.com^{[dead link‍]}
• Soryu Class 16SS SSK Submarine - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on navyrecognition.com
  • Sōryū class Image Gallery^[usurped]
• Website on the Imperial Japanese Navy: JMSDF vessels
• SWZmaritime December 2020, Japan special