Singapore navy takes delivery of its first Littoral Mission Vessel
Kelvin Wong, Singapore - IHS Jane's International Defence Review
27 May 2016



The Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN's) Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) development programme has reached a key milestone with the interim delivery of the first vessel, Independence , on 26 May.

The ship will now undergo further testing by 182 Squadron, operating out of the RSN's western Tuas Naval Base.

Eight of these 1,250 tonne, 80 m long multi-mission platforms, which have been procured under a contract awarded by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in January 2013, will eventually replace the service's 11 ageing Fearless-class patrol vessels which entered service in the mid-1990s.

The LMVs are being built locally by Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine, the shipbuilding division of local defence prime ST Engineering, using a design jointly developed by ST Marine and Saab Kockums AB. The programme is being managed by the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), the country's principal defence acquisition authority.

"The journey to arrive at this stage has taken us only 51 months and it is not without bumps, but the teams rose to meet the challenges on many occasions," Ng Sing Chan, president of ST Marine, said in an emailed statement to IHS Jane's . "Considering that this is the first of its class, the duration of 51 months is an achievement worthy of mention. I'd like to thank and congratulate our strategic partners, namely DSTA and the RSN, as well as our many other partners including the Saab Kockums and DNV-GL for their contribution in the achievement of this milestone."

Independence was launched at ST Marine's Benoi shipyard on 3 July 2015, and had been put through a series of harbour acceptance tests and sea trials that lasted till April 2016.

"Performance results from these tests are within our specifications and expectations," Lieutenant Colonel Chew Chun-Chau, head of the LMV programme, told IHS Jane's , adding that the ship is expected to be fully operational by 2017.

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