![]() The Harpoon missile has a range of 130 km (70 nmi) and uses active radar guidance. The frigates are equipped with Boeing Harpoon missiles and Oto Melara 76 mm guns for surface defence. This increases battlespace awareness and allows little time for the enemy to react due to the short sensor-to-shooter loops. The Combat Management System will then make sense of the different data, establish an accurate picture of the area of operations, and send the information back to shore and to its army and air force counterparts. Įach frigate has a span of influence that stretches up to about 200 nmi (370 km), where it acts as the Navy's mobile operations centre out at sea and receives information from sister ships and aerial assets deployed within the range. The locally developed Combat Management System integrates all the sensors and weapon systems on board, and a dual Fast Ethernet data transfer system forms the backbone of this system. The Formidable-class frigates are key nodes within the Singapore Armed Forces' Integrated Knowledge-based Command and Control network, a concept similar to the United States Department of Defense's network-centric warfare doctrine. It is reported that the frigates have a special surface-to-air missile configuration, combining the Thales Herakles radar with the Sylver A50 launcher and a mix of Aster 15 and 30 missiles. Utilising the DCNS Sylver vertical launch system (VLS), each frigate is equipped with 32 cells. The radar provides all-round automatic search and tracking of both air and surface targets, and is integrated with the MBDA Aster air defence system. The frigates are equipped with the Thales Herakles passive electronically scanned array multi-function radar, which provides three-dimensional surveillance for up to 250 km (155.3 mi). The frigates also possess better sea keeping qualities and are able to stay at sea for longer periods of time. The frigate is also constructed entirely of steel, unlike the La Fayette class which makes extensive use of weight-saving composite structures in its aft superstructure block. The Formidable class have a significantly reduced profile than the La Fayette class and its other derivatives, due to the smaller superstructure and the use of enclosed sensor mast technology. Radar cross section (RCS) reduction features have been incorporated into the Formidable class design, with inclined hull sides and bulwarks as well as concealment of ship boats and replenishment-at-sea equipment behind low-RCS curtains. Subsequent maintenance and mid-life retrofit will be done by ST Marine.Ĭonstruction of Formidable began in late 2002, when the keel was laid down in Lorient in November 2002. Under the arrangement, DCNS was to design and build the first frigate in its Lorient yard in France while the remaining five frigates were to be built locally by Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine at its Benoi yard in Singapore. A key feature of the contract was the technology transfer arrangement. In March 2000, the Singapore Ministry of Defence awarded the contract to DCNS for the design and construction of six frigates. The United States, Sweden and France participated in the bid for the contract. ![]() The search for a replacement for the aging Sea Wolf-class missile gunboats, which entered into service in 1972, started in the mid-1990s. The six ships form the First Flotilla of the RSN. The Formidable-class multi-role stealth frigates are the latest surface platforms to enter into service with the Republic of Singapore Navy, and are multi-mission derivatives of the French Navy's La Fayette-class frigate.
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