Singapore navy gets homemade warships<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Singapore's navy yesterday launched the
\nfirst of 12 warships that have been designed and are being built
\nlocally.<\/p>\n
The new class of 55-metre (180-foot) patrol vessels will
\nreplace 12 smaller and less well-equipped coastal patrol craft
\nthe Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has operated since the early
\n1980s, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch of the RSS Fearless, the first of the
\n500-ton warships to hit the water, Lee said that unlike other
\ncountries in the region, the small island state did not need a
\nlarge navy.<\/p>\n
"But we still need to defend Singapore from the seaward
\nthreats. This is the key mission of the RSN," he said.<\/p>\n
Lee said Singapore was critically dependent on free and
\nunimpeded access to sea lanes through which most its trade and
\nvital supplies like food and fuel flow.<\/p>\n
"The RSN has to safeguard these sea lines of communications,
\nand be ready to keep them open during any crisis," he said.<\/p>\n
The new ships, designed by the Singapore Defense Ministry's
\nDefense Technology Group, are being built locally by Singapore
\nShipbuilding and Engineering, a member of the Singapore
\nTechnologies group of companies.<\/p>\n
The contract, the terms of which have not been disclosed, was
\nawarded two years ago.<\/p>\n
"We buy new assets only when upgrading is no longer
\neconomically or operationally feasible, or to develop critical
\nnew operational capabilities," Lee said, adding that replaced
\nships would be redeployed to the Police Coast Guard.<\/p>\n
Lee said all the new ships, to be delivered by 1997, would be
\nequipped with advanced communications and electronic warfare
\nequipment. Each will be armed with a 76mm main gun and
\nsurface-to-air missiles.<\/p>\n
Six of the new ships, to be delivered between this month and
\nlate-1996, will also be fitted with hull-mounted anti-submarine
\nsensors and torpedoes.<\/p>\n
These ships will be fitted with waterjet propulsion, the first
\nof its kind in the region for ships of similar size.<\/p>\n
The RSN was started in 1967 with two wooden training ships.
\nLee said the navy had over the years steadily developed into "a
\ncompact but balanced and significant fighting force".<\/p>\n
He said the navy's current fleet included missile corvettes,
\nupgraded missile gunboats and minehunters. He gave no figures.<\/p>\n
Singapore, with a population of three million, has total armed
\nforces of 300,000 regulars, full-time national servicemen and
\nreservists.<\/p>",
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