Submarine Toryu Launched

Tokyo, November 6, 2019 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. today held a ceremony marking the launch of the submarine Toryu at its Kobe Works' No.1 Building Berth at 12:50 PM, which was built for the Japan Ministry of Defense (MOD). The ceremony was attended by a delegation of top MOD officials.

This is the 12th Soryu class submarine, and the 29th built at the Kawasaki Kobe shipyard after World War II.

It provides high water pressure resistance by using high strength steel for its pressure hull, and superior submerged operations and propulsion performance by adopting an X-rudder. It also has lithium ion battery systems for increased underwater endurance, a variety of automated systems, improved surveillance capabilities using high-performance sonar, increased stealth capabilities, and enhanced safety measures.

The submarine’s construction timetable and specifications are as follows:

Construction Timetable

Construction begun        January 27, 2017

Launched            November 6, 2019

Estimated completion    March 2021

Specifications

Length  84m

Beam    9.1m

Depth   10.3m

Displacement    2,950 tons

Engines Kawasaki 12V 25/25 SB-type diesel engines (2)

Electric propulsion motor (1)

Armament          Underwater launch tubes

Other    Submarine snorkel

Sonar