Taigei-class submarine

The Taigei class, also called 29SS, is a new class of attack submarines developed for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as the successor to the Sōryū class. Like the eleventh and twelfth Sōryū boats, Ōryū and Tōryū, it carries a large amount of lithium-ion batteries, which lets the submarine travel longer and faster underwater than conventional diesel-electric boats. The article says the hull does not differ much from the Sōryū design but is about 100 tons heavier, and the boats have newer equipment such as new sonar and a snorkel power generation system, and use the Type 18 torpedo. The article traces the design to research that began in 2004 on sonar, air-independent propulsion, shock-resistant structures, quieter hulls and silent drives. The first boat, Taigei, was converted in 2024 into a dedicated test submarine. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries build the boats at their Kobe shipyards.