In a development that is sure to trigger Pete about Australia's convoluted naval construction issues, Singapore's ST Engineering Marine shipbuilder (majority owned by Singapore's GIC, Temasak Holdings) has begun construction of the second Multi-Role Combat Vessel (MRCV). This means that the MRCV program is on track to see all six units delivered to the Republic of Singapore Navy from 2028 - a very speedy build time, considering these are large surface combatants.
 |
| Image from: NavalNews |
The MRCV program was initiated in 2017 by the RSN as the successor class to the 500-ton Victory-class missile corvette, with the first public mention in 2018. The program also has a tie-in to Singapore's biannual IMDEX naval exhibition, with a host of shipbuilders, like DAMEN, Naval Group and ST Marine, showcasing potential designs at IMDEX 2019 in May 2019.
At IMDEX 2023, a Saab/OMT joint design was chosen, with ST Engineering Marine serving as the primary contractor and builder, and Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) assuming overall program management. While in 2019, many of us assumed that the class would be a frigate-sized vessel with a displacement of 4,000 tons to 6,000 tons, NavalNews confirmed at IMDEX 2023 from conversations with bidding companies that the RSN's requirements had escalated displacement to 8,000 tons, with a crew complement of 80 - this indicates a high degree of automation, and is also in line with the Singapore Navy's current practice of using ST Marine to conduct all levels of MRO.
Steel was cut for the first in class in March 2024, and the keel was laid in October 2024, with the first vessel scheduled to launch by the end of 2025 (yes, this is a 21-month build program for the hull of an 8,000-ton surface combatant), though she will likely need two more years for fitting out of ship and combat systems before she's delivered to the RSN for commissioning, likely in early 2028.
If ST Engineering Marine maintains this current production schedule, with a MRCV hull completed every year, this would mean that the sixth and final hull should be launched in 2030.
IMDEX 2025 is next week, and I am certain that there will be further updates on the MRCV, such as what they are actually going to be called (the RSN seems to favour attribute names, so we will not see an RSS Lee Kuan Yew as he actually disliked this practice), and we should find out what the ships will actually look like!