TKMS and the marine division of ST Engineering intend to establish a joint maintenance and service center in Singapore for the submarines of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and other international users of TKMS submarines.
A corresponding MoU was signed in the Southeast Asian city-state on March 24 by Oliver Burkhard, CEO of TKMS, and Tan Leong Peng, President of the Marine Division at ST Engineering, in the presence of the defense ministers of both countries, Boris Pistorius and Chan Chun Sing.
RSN operates submarines of the type 218SG (“Invincible” class) developed for Singapore, of which a total of up to six units have been ordered from TKMS. The shipyard will supply not only the boats but also the associated training system. The recently signed letter of intent deepens the existing partnership between TKMS, its subsidiary TKMS Singapore Pte. Ltd. and ST Engineering and is aimed at long-term, locally anchored lifecycle management with overhauls, repairs, logistical support and modernizations – in the future also for the German Navy and other international operators of TKMS submarines.
The agreement is embedded in an expansion of security and defense policy cooperation between Germany and Singapore, which is supported by regular ministerial visits, years of intensified defense cooperation and the classification of the relationship as a strategic partnership. In addition, there are numerous industrial and technology policy formats, for example in air traffic management and digitalization, in which German and Singaporean players work together on solutions for transport and security issues.
In the maritime sector, Singapore is already a pioneer in the use of unmanned systems and uses drones to monitor maritime and shipping traffic and protect sea routes, which further increases the need for integrated situational awareness and networked, maintenance-intensive high-tech platforms – from submarines to unmanned systems. Against this backdrop, the planned service center strengthens Singapore’s role as a hub for advanced submarine technology in the Asia-Pacific region, while underpinning the German naval industry’s commitment to remain a key partner in the region.In addition to this agreement, both ministers witnessed the signing of an agreement to strengthen supply chain resilience between Singapore and Germany.
