Republic of Singapore Navy’s fourth littoral mission vessel ‘Justice’ was launched at ST Marine’s Benoi shipyard during a ceremony held on March 18.
Littoral mission vessels are being built to replace the 20-year-old Fearless-class patrol vessels which the Singapore Navy started to gradually decommission .
The LMV project is making progress, with LMV Justice expected to be fully operational by 2018, and all eight LMVs by 2020. The first three LMVs, Independence, Sovereignty and Unity, are presently undergoing sea trials and LMV Independence will be commissioned during the RSN’s golden jubilee on 5 May 2017.
Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Minister for State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman highlighted that given the increasingly volatile maritime domain, the LMVs illustrate how the RSN is “looking ahead to the next 50 years to make sure it stays relevant and ready for the challenges ahead.” He added, “the RSN has designed the LMV to conduct a wider range of operations in a more complex environment. It will give the RSN greater mission flexibility and sustainability.”
ST Marine was awarded the contract by Singapore’s ministry of defense in 2013 to design and build eight LMVs for the RSN.
The LMVs will be configurable to undertake a wide spectrum of operations. More than twice the size of the current class of patrol vessels in service with the Republic of Singapore Navy, LMVs measure 80 meters in length and displace 1,250 tonnes. All eight vessels are expected to be operational by 2020.