On 23 October the Keel Laying Ceremony for the Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) first Multi-Role Combat Vessel (MRCV) was held at ST Engineering Marine Limited. The Guest-of-Honour, Permanent Secretary (Defence Development), Mr Melvyn Ong pressed the button to activate the crane which lowered a section of the hull to be joined as part of the keel.
The 8000 tonne MRCVs will have electric drive propulsion and a complement of about 80. They will be fitted with a 76mm Leonardo Super Rapido gun, 32 vertical launch cells for Aster 15 and 30 surface-to-air missiles and the Singaporean-Israeli Blue Spear anti-ship missile. The ships will be able to embark the S-70B Seahawk helicopter and can launch air and ship launched anti-submarine torpedoes.
The 290km range Blue Spear missiles will replace the US Harpoon missiles in the RSN fleet and are a 5thgeneration version of the Gabriel missile. In February of this year the Estonian Navy announced it would also acquire the Israeli-Singaporean missile.
The MRCVs will also function as ‘motherships’, capable of operating unmanned systems. They are also designed with modularity and will support a wide spectrum of missions and operations. The first of six MRCVs will commission in 2028 and the new class will replace with Victory class corvettes.
Sources: Including Singapore MINDEF, RSN, IAI & ST Engineering.
