The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) commissioned its 10th Sōryū-class diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK) on 18 March.
The submarine JS Shoryu (SS-510) was built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and its shipbuilding subsidiary Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation (KSC). The boat was commissioned during a ceremony held at the KSC shipyard in Hyōgo Prefecture, central Japan.
Shoryu is the eleventh Sōryū-class to be completed (tenth to be commissioned) and the fifth to be built by KHI, with the other six submarines constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). A total of fifteen are currently planned.
Powered by two Kawasaki 12V 25/25 diesel engines and four Kawasaki Kockums V4-275R Stirling engines, the 84-metre, 2,947-tonne submarine carries 65 sailors and has a maximum speed of 20 knots. The submarine has six 533 mm torpedo tubes that can launch the Japanese Type 89 heavyweight torpedo and the US UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.
The class of submarine Sōryū means blue dragon in Japanese while Shoryu is named after a Second World War Japanese aircraft carrier sunk during the Battle of Midway in 1942.
Sōryū-class submarine
Type: Diesel-electric Attack Submarine
Builders: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation
Country of Origin: Japan
Operator: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
Built: 2005-present | In Commission: 2009-present
Planned: 15 | Completed: 11 | Building: 3
Crew: 65
Displacement: 2,900 tonnes (surfaced), 4,200 tonnes (submerged) | Length: 84m | Beam: 9.1m | Draught: 8.5 m
Armament: 6 x 533 mm torpedo tubes for Type 89 heavyweight torpedos and UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles
On-board 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; ZLR-3 6 ESM equipment; 2 × 3-inch underwater countermeasure launcher tubes for launching of Acoustic Device Countermeasures (ADCs)
Propulsion: 2 Kawasaki 12V 25/25 diesel engines and 4 Kawasaki Kockums V4-275R Stirling engines
Speed: 13 kn (surfaced), 20 kt (submerged)
Range: c.6000 nautical miles at 6.5 kn
Diving Depth: c.500 m
