Shawn Chung's Singapore Navy Update

Regular contributor Shawn Chung, on January 15, 2024, provided the following useful updates on Singapore Navy matters:

Singapore Navy News
I was quite surprised when Singapore accepted a bid by Fassmer for Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), which will be delivered from 2028. While info is scant, we know that they will be based on the Fassmer 80 OPV, which has the same length and displacement as the Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessels (LMVs) that ST Marine in  Singapore built in 2020.  

So I was wondering - why not just order OPVs from ST Marine?  And I figure it's due to ST Marine's order book - even if they were 'in the bid' for the OPVs, they are pretty busy with projects right now. 

Multi-Role Combat Vessels (MRCV)/Joint Multi-Mission Ships (JMMS) - Progress on the MRCV project was made at IMDEX Singapore last year, with ST Marine as the constructor, with the first vessel to be delivered by 2028. The JMMS project has yet to kick-off, but the Endurance-class LSTs will turn 30 in 2030, so their replacements should be programmed for commission by around 2035. 

Formidable-class - Formidable-class frigates will enter mid-life upgrade (MLU), with the first to be completed by 2028. The upgrades will include replacing Harpoon SSMs with Blue Spear, and perhaps Seafire AESA radar, which Thales says is scalable - so the Formidables may operate a single, rotating unit like Herakles, while the MRCVs get the four fixed arrays.

Invincible class submarine

There has been no follow-up news on the new Invincible-class submarines - three boats are in Kiel Germany - one is still in production, one is pier-side for fitting out, and the first-in-class, RSS Invincible, is used for crew training. The second boat of the class, the RSS Impeccable, arrived in Singapore in July 2023, but did not make an appearance during Singapore's 2023 National Day celebrations, nor the Singapore Navy's public event at Vivocity, a harbourside mall.