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could take place safely. After all, Singapore is which further enhance the frigates’
dependent on the global maritime trade. warfighting abilities in the air and underwater
dimensions.

Endurance- class LST
Formidable-class Frigate
2005
2013
This year saw the expansion of the RSN’s
underwater capabilities with the acquisition of After over 20 years of service, the MCVs
the Archer-class submarine from Sweden. received system upgrades in this year. They
The Archer-class is equipped with Air were fitted with enhanced combat
Independent Propulsion technology, which management, communications and sensor
further enhances the stealth capabilities of our systems, as well as electronic warfare
submarines. In 2013, the year the Archer-class systems. This further enhances the shi[s’
project was completed, the RSN announced warefare capabilities.
further developments for its submarine force:
we are to acquire Type 218SG submarines Along with system upgrades, the MCVs were
from Germany. This marks the RSN’s venture equipped with the capability to operate with
into customising the design of our underwater Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV),
assets to suit Singapore’s unique maritime marking the RSN’s further experimentation
environment. with unmanned systems. Placed at the rear of
the MCV, the UAV is controlled by a single
operator on board the ship, who manages the
UAV’s flight and monitors several other
systems to conduct surveillance and identify
targets. This boosts the MCV's surveillance,
identification abilities and provides a better
maritime situational picture.
Archer-class submarine

2007

The Formidable-class frigates signalled the
RSN’s transformation into the 3rd Generation
Navy, with the first frigate, RSS Formidable,
commissioned in 2007. The frigates replaced
the MGBs and provided the RSN with more
magnificent “Strike” naval warfare
capabilities. The warships can operate with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk naval helicopters,