Singapore to upgrade Formidable-class frigates with new Blue Spear anti-ship missiles

 

The Blue Spear missile, displayed in 2022. Photo c/o Shephard Media.

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has announced plans to upgrade its fleet of Formidable-class guided missile frigates including the replacement of its current RGM-84C Harpoon anti-ship missiles with the new Blue Spear missile.

This was confirmed by the RSN’s First Fleet Commander Col. Daniel Ng Kok Yeng during an interview by British defense media outlet Janes, as well as the Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) which released a written statement about this development.

The upgrade will be part of the Formidable-class frigates’ upcoming Mid Life Upgrade (MLU) program which would provide the ships with improved firepower with the introduction of the Blue Spear missile, as well as other upgrades to improve its combat management and communication systems.

The Blue Spear is a product of Proteus Advanced Systems, which is a joint venture between ST Engineering and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and is considered a 5th generation anti-ship cruise missiles that can be deployed from ships of land-based missile launchers.

It is said to be developed from the technology used by IAI on its successful Gabriel anti-ship missile family, which incidentally was the RSN’s first anti-ship missile mounted on its retired Sea Wolf-class missile boats.

The missile has a maximum range of around 290 kilometres (157 nautical miles) and features a beyond line of sight (BLOS)  which helps in reducing the exposure of the ship from threats and improving accuracy.

It also have a hardened casing for the radar seeker, guidance system and warhead which would allow increased survivability against ship-based close-in weapon systems (CIWS) gun rounds.

[1] Janes

[2] Singapore Ministry of Defence