Diving into the deep with Singapore’s ‘hidden defenders’

SINGAPORE — Submarines are key in keeping Singapore’s waters safe, yet with its shallow depth and the hive of activities in the busy Singapore Strait, the demands on the Republic’s naval forces are high.

Submariners have to go through a nine-month course, where officers are put through a series of tough tests, including performing drills while wearing an opaque mask to simulate the lack of visibility on board in emergencies such as a fire.

“Operating a submarine is extremely complicated, so we have to conduct stringent training to ensure that every member on board can carry out their tasks properly,” said Colonel Teo Chin Leong, 46, commanding officer of 171 Squadron, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) submarine unit.

For the first time, the Submarine Training Centre in Changi Naval Base was open to the media on Feb 7, where reporters got a peek at how Singapore’s “hidden defenders” train.

It comes ahead of the RSN launching the first of the four Type 218SG submarines in Germany on Monday (Feb 18).

The launch ceremony will be officiated by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in Kiel, a port city on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

The new Type 218SG submarines are manufactured by German defence contractor ThyssenKrupp Marine System, with a combat system that is co-developed with ST Electronics.

These four new submarines will progressively replace the two Archer-class and two Challenger-class vessels, which are refurbished units from Sweden.

These new units can help to reduce training duration for submariners and improve manpower allocation, with more automated systems onboard.

To simulate actual deployment, these training exercises can last several days.

“When we are deployed for days and weeks, sometimes you can lose track of whether it’s day or night,” said Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Fong Chi Onn, 39, commanding officer of RSS Swordsman.

“You don't often get to see the sun, so we rely on our equipment to tell us what the time of the day it is.”

The training is conducted in simulators such as the Submarine Steering and Diving Trainer (SSDT) and the Submarine Combat Tactical Trainer (SCTT).

These simulators allow the squadron to carry out realistic training without incurring the logistical costs involved in actually launching submarines out at sea.

The SSDT simulates an Archer-class submarine cabin, where the helmsman juggles the roll, tilt and direction of the vessel, the diving officer balances and controls its submerging, while the “Officer of the Watch” oversees its operation.

The SCTT, on the other hand, consists of four consoles that are modelled after the ones in operational submarines. These include analysis, surveillance, command and control, and weapon control.

The Archer-class RSS Swordsman recently participated in the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) last November, with a near month-long deployment to the Andaman Sea and the successful firing of a heavyweight torpedo.

Describing the space on board as smaller than a three-room HDB flat for a crew of 28, spending prolonged hours together created an “extremely strong camaraderie”, said LTC Fong.

“Sometimes when I give an order I don't even verbally have to say,” he said. “All I need to do is look in one direction, give (my colleague) a nod and he understands what I need and I understand what he wants.”