James Holmes at National Interest has a lot to say about the Sōryū-class submarines of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. These diesel boats are not your grandpa’s old WWII-era smokers. Equipped with the best Air Independent Propulsion tech that could be licensed from the Swedes, these X-tailed, 4200-ton boats are large (275-feet overall), capable (6100 nm range, modern combat sensors, 30 torpedoes/sub-launched harpoons), and can remained submerged for weeks if needed, all while remaining quieter than many of the world’s more expensive nuclear-powered attack submarines. They are also a comparative bargain at $500 milly a pop, while the current U.S. SSN runs a few times that even in the most optimistic figures.
Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Sōryū-class submarine Hakuryu (SS-503) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit, Feb. 6. While in port, the submarine crew will conduct various training evolutions and have the opportunity to enjoy the sights and culture of Hawaii. (U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Christy Hagen/Released)
The JMSDF has plans for ten of these (and currently has half in service already), but Holmes is suggesting something else.
“In short, Soryus are optimized for plying the China seas and Western Pacific. Those are precisely the waters the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard singled out as crucial in the 2007 Maritime Strategy, the sea services’ most authoritative statement of how they see the strategic environment and intend to manage it. Soryu SSKs are proven platforms manned by experienced mariners who can bequeath their knowledge to their U.S. comrades. That makes these boats a logical common platform around which to build a combined SSK squadron.”
