The ''Fearless''-class

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

s were built by Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine for the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the Naval warfare, maritime Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of ...

(RSN) in the 1990s. Four remain in service with the RSN as modified ''Sentinel''-class maritime security and response vessels (MSRVs). Derivatives of the type are also in service in the navies of

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Development

The ''Fearless''-class patrol vessels were ordered as replacements for the earlier coastal patrol craft after they had been transferred to the

Police Coast Guard The Police Coast Guard (PCG) is a division of the Singapore Police Force that combines the functions of marine police and coast guard in Singapore. Its duties include the law enforcement and search and rescue operations in collaboration with the ...

. The contract was awarded to ST Marine on 27 February 1993.

Design and construction

The patrol vessel is powered by two MTU 12V 595 TE 90 turbocharged

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s coupled to ZF gearboxes. It is equipped with an MTU ship control monitoring and management system (SCMMS). In a departure from traditional conventional drives, the patrol vessel is fitted with twin waterjet systems developed by

Kamewa AB Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad (''trans.'' Karlstad Mechanical Works Ltd), known as Kamewa, was a Swedish manufacturing company in the city of Kristinehamn. Kamewa started as a brand name of the controllable-pitch propellers manufactured by KM ...

of Sweden. The patrol vessel's main gun, installed on the bow deck, is the

OTO Melara 76 mm The OTO Melara 76 mm gun, marketed as the OTO 76/62 Gun Mount, is a naval autocannon built and designed by the Italian Defense contractor, defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/ ...

Super Rapide. The patrol vessels are also armed with four CIS 50 12.7 mm machine guns. The air defence system is the Simbad twin missile launcher for the Mistral surface-to-air missile. The first six vessels of the class were fitted for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

, and are additionally armed with triple tube B515 torpedo launchers from

Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei Leonardo Sistemi di Difesa is an Italian defense company which is part of the Leonardo (company), Leonardo conglomerate. The company specializes in the manufacture of naval weapon systems. The plant based in Livorno came about when the Whitehead To ...

S.p.A. (WASS).

''Sentinel''-class maritime security and response vessels

In 2021, four former ''Fearless''-class patrol vessels were refurbished and re-inducted into service as ''Sentinel''-class maritime security and response vessels (MSRV). The refurbishment plan was announced in March 2020 in response to the increase of sea robberies within the region, and foreign intrusions of Singapore territorial waters. The first two vessels, MSRV ''Sentinel'' (55) and ''Guardian'' (56), entered operational service with the RSN's Maritime Security and Response Flotilla on 26 January 2021, with the latter two, MSRV ''Protector'' (57) and ''Bastion'' (58), joining them on 20 January 2022. In addition to refitting the vessels to extend their operational lifespan, the ''Sentinel''-class MSRVs were fitted with a range of calibrated capabilities, including enhanced communications equipment, improved visual and audio warning systems, and modular ballistics protection on their

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

s. As part of the refit, non-lethal

LRAD A long-range acoustic device (LRAD), acoustic hailing device (AHD) or sound cannon is a specialized loudspeaker that produces sound at high power for communicating at a distance. It has been used as a method of crowd control, which has caused ...

and laser dazzling systems were added to increase operational flexibility, while fenders were incorporated into the hull to come alongside vessels of interest. The MSRVs retain the 76 mm Oto Melara naval gun that was previously in service on the ''Fearless''-class, but have additionally been equipped with a

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

25 mm naval gun system at stern. For point defence, the MSRVs are also equipped with 7.62 mm machine gun positions near their bridge wings.

Operational history

Over the years, the patrol vessel fleet has participated in various maritime security missions, safeguarding Singapore's waters, and deterring piracy and sea robbery, as well as search-and-rescue efforts. On 3 January 2003, was badly damaged in a collision with a

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

in the Singapore Strait. The ship has since been stricken from the navy list. In January 2005, 189 Squadron was transferred to the Coastal Command from the Fleet, with the 11 ships forming the 182 and 189 Squadron. On 30 January 2013, the Ministry of Defence of Singapore (MINDEF) awarded

ST Engineering ST Engineering, is a global technology, defence and engineering group with a diverse portfolio of businesses across the aerospace, smart city, defence and public security segments. Headquartered in Singapore, the group reported a revenue of ov ...

a contract to design and build a

new class New class is a polemic term by critics of countries that followed the Soviet-type state socialism to describe the privileged ruling class of bureaucrats and Communist party functionaries which arose in these states. Generally, the group known ...

of eight littoral mission vessels (LMVs), which progressively replaced the ''Fearless''-class patrol vessels from 2017. The final two ''Fearless''-class patrol vessels, RSS ''Freedom'' and ''Gallant'', were decommissioned in December 2020.

Exports

In April 2012, ST Marine was awarded a contract by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

to build four patrol vessels based on the ''Fearless'' class. The vessels were delivered as the between 2015 and 2016. In November 2021, ST Engineering was awarded a sub-contract for design, platform equipment, and technical assistance by Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), which is building four ''Falaj 3''-class offshore patrol vessels based on the ''Fearless''-class for the

United Arab Emirates Navy The United Arab Emirates Navy (UAEN) is the naval branch of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. It is small force of about 3,000 personnel. It maintains 12 well-equipped coastal patrol boats and eight missile boats. Although primarily concer ...

. In March 2023, following their refurbishment, the former

(RSN) vessels RSS ''Brave'' and ''Gallant'' were transferred as a gift to the

Royal Brunei Navy The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), natively known as (TLDB) is the naval force of Brunei. It is a small but relatively well-equipped military force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions, and to deter and defend the Bru ...

(RBN; , TLDB), renamed as KDB ''As-Siddiq'' and KDB ''Al-Faruq''.

Ships of class

References

External links

Republic of Singapore Navy - Naval Assets
— at MINDEF.gov.sg {{Authority control Patrol vessels Patrol vessels of the Republic of Singapore Navy