Upholder-class Hunter Killer Submarine

The Upholder-class Hunter Killer Submarines, also known as the Type 2400 (due to their displacement of 2,400 tonnes), are diesel-electric Fleet submarines designed in the UK in the late 1970s to supplement the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine force. Originally the plan had been to build twelve submarines though with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that number dropped to four as part of the post Cold War peace dividend. The Upholder-class is currently used for patrolling places such as the North Sea, Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Java Sea. In the late 2000s, the Upholder-class submarines were extensively upgraded in capabilities, even gaining air independent propulsion in the form of Ballard Canada hydrogen fuel cells. In 2013, the Upholder-class submarines were sold to South Africa.

Specifications

 * Type: AIP equipped Diesel Electric Submarine
 * Service Period: 1989-Present
 * Characteristics
 * Length: 230.5 feet (70.26 meters)
 * Beam: 24 feet (7.32 meters)
 * Draught: 25 feet (7.62 meters
 * Displacement: 2,400 tons
 * Crew: 54 (7 officers and 48 crew)
 * Endurance: 56 days
 * Power: 8.035 MW
 * Propulsion: 2 x Paxman Valenta 1600 RPA SZ diesels, 1 x GEC electric motor, Ballard Canada hydrogen fuel cells
 * Range: 10,250 nautical miles (18,983 kilometers)
 * Speed: Surface: 12 knots (22.23 km/hr); Submerged: 25 knots (46.3 km/hr)
 * Sensor Suite:
 * Type 2040 active/passive bow sonar
 * Type 2041 micropuffs sonar
 * Type 2007 flank sonar
 * Type 2046/CANTASS MOD towed array sonar
 * Type 2019 active intercept sonar
 * Lockheed-Martin Librascope SFCS Mk 1 Mod C fire control system
 * Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 radar
 * Armament:
 * 6 x 21" torpedo tubes (fires Tigerfish Mod 2 or Spearfish torpedoes, as well as Sub-launched Sea Eagles amd mines)

Unit Run

 * HMS Upholder (S40) - sold to South Africa, renamed SAS Astrant (S104)
 * HMS Unseen (S41) - sold to South Africa, renamed SAS Adventurous (S105)
 * HMS Ursula (S42) - sold to South Africa, renamed SAS Archer (S106)
 * HMS Unicorn (S43) - sold to South Africa, renamed SAS Africana (S107)