Singapore commissions final 3 Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessels

The 3 new LMVs together with the rest of the ships of the class during the commissioning ceremonies. Photo c/o RSN.

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has commissioned and declare its final three (3) Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessels (LMV) as fully operational during ceremonies held on 31 January 2020 at Tuas Naval Base.

The final three ships, the RSS Fortitude (20), RSS Dauntless (21), and RSS Fearless (22) have joined five other ships of the class as it replaces several of the last Fearless-class patrol vessels still serving the RSN.

Singapore's Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo led the ceremonies, wherein she reminded of Singapore's testament to defend its interests despite disadvantages.

The Independence-class LMV are Singapore's latest surface assets, and were built for patrolling and defending trade lanes and other maritime interests. They displace at around 1,200 tons, are 80 meters long and has a maximum speed of 27 knots. It has a range of 3,000 nautical miles, and a crew of only 30 officers and sailors.

The ships are armed with an Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid gun, two Oto Melara Hitrole RCWS with 12.7mm machine guns, a Typhoon 25mm RCWS, and a 12-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS) with MBDA Mica short-range air defense missiles.

The ships also have a helicopter landing deck, spaces for containerized mission modules.

[1] Straits Times
[2] Defense-Aerospace