Defense Daily website reported on May 8th that many Southeast Asian countries' naval vessels are of mixed models and lack systematic construction. However, Singapore has carefully planned and constructed its naval power, with some achievements already visible and more plans underway.
On April 25th, a steel cutting ceremony was held for the second multi-purpose combat ship built by Singapore's ST Engineering Maritime. In recent weeks, two new offshore patrol vessels for the Singapore Navy have also had their keels laid. These two new classes of naval vessels will enter service starting in 2028.
Singapore plans to purchase six multi-purpose combat ships the size of frigates. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Defense, they "will serve as motherships capable of controlling unmanned equipment assets in the air, on the surface, and underwater." These vessels will maximize the use of automation systems, artificial intelligence, and data analysis to reduce crew numbers.
As for the offshore patrol vessels, they will replace temporary "Sentinel"-class patrol boats to carry out security maintenance tasks in Singapore waters. The hulls of these vessels are being built at the Lithuania West Baltic Shipyard and then installed and debugged by Fassmer in Germany.
However, Singapore Navy's modernization process does not stop with the above vessels. On March 3rd, Singapore announced a 12.3% increase in defense spending, bringing the total expenditure of the new fiscal year defense budget to 23.4 billion Singapore dollars (approximately 18 billion US dollars).
The main content related to the Singapore Navy in the budget is the additional purchase of two Type 218SG diesel-electric submarines.
The first two Type 218SG submarines built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems were commissioned in September 2024, while the other two ordered in 2017 under the same contract are expected to enter service in 2028.
Goh Carey, an analyst from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told Defense Daily reporters that the reasons for building more submarines are obvious.
He said: "Singapore may have noticed ongoing naval construction in the region, including underwater areas, and will strive to build reliable submarine capabilities, planning to form a complete formation of six submarines." He stated that a larger fleet would give this city-state "higher operational flexibility and stronger deterrence."
In addition, with the help of Naval Group France, ST Engineering Maritime is modernizing six "Fearless"-class frigates of the Singapore Navy. This is thanks to a contract announced in December 2023, which includes replacing with "Blue Spear" anti-ship missiles.
In the field of unmanned equipment, the Singapore Navy officially formed a small fleet of unmanned surface vessels 16.9 meters long in January. These unmanned vessels began operations in 2023 and have now achieved fully autonomous operation. (Compiled by/Lu Di)
A Singapore Navy vessel (AFP file photo)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7502623427614851611/
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