January 16, 2004: The January 7th launch of the Republic of
Singapore Navy's (RSN) first 3,200 ton Project Delta class stealth
frigate has revealed some of the advanced capabilities incorporated
into these ships. It was confirmed that, when fully operational,
the project Delta frigates will be amongst the most powerful air
warfare ships in the Asia Pacific region, and comparable to the
South Korean KDX II class, the Japanese Kongo class, and the
Chinese Type 052c class.
The RSS Formidable was launched in Lorient, France and will undergo
outfitting and sea trials in France before traveling to Singapore
in early 2005, where she will join her five locally built sisters.
Once all the ships of this class are in service by 2009, Singapore
will retire its six 1970's vintage Sea Wolf class missile gun
boats.
The project Delta class are based on modified French La Fayette
multipurpose frigates, which are currently in service with France,
Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. Until the launch of the Formidable, the
most potent ships derived from this class were the 4,700 ton Saudi
Al Riyadh (F3000S Sawari II) Class Multipurpose AAW Frigate. From
the specifications recently released by the RSN, the Delta class
will be more... formidable.
Fully operational, the RSS Formidable will be capable of carrying
up to 32 Aster active homing SAMs in Slyver VLS (vertical launchers
just below the deck) launchers. The exact Aster variant has not
been made public, but most likely will be the 30 kilometer range
Aster 15, not the 110 kilometer range Aster 30. Aster incorporates
an active radar seeker and reaction thrusters for high
maneuverability, and will give these ships a highly potent area air
defense capability, with the ability to intercept anti-ship
missiles at long ranges. This will enable the RSN Formidable and
her sisters to perform anti-air escort duties similar to the US
Aegis warships.
Other weapon systems include up to eight Harpoon anti-ship
missiles, six Whitehead lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes and an
Oto Melera 76mm Super Rapid dual purpose gun. Secondary gun systems
are not mentioned, but RSN ships have recently been fitted with
locally developed modular 25mm remote weapons systems. These
systems have their own optical and thermal targeting systems and
fire control, and can be fitted with various IR SAMS, like the
Mistral, to operate as gun/missile combination Close-in Weapons
systems. These ships will also operate a medium naval
helicopter.
The base-line La Fayette class have stealth features, that make
their radar cross section equivalent to a 500 ton fishing boat, and
the Delta ships will be even stealthier. Compared to her La Fayette
cousins, the RSS Formidable and her sisters have a significantly
reduced profile as a result of it's smaller superstructure and the
use of enclosed sensor mast technology. The reduced radar signature
makes it more difficult for radar to detect and track the ship. It
also becomes more difficult for anti-ship missiles to home in on
the ship, or see past counter-measures.
All her radar warfare requirements are met by a single Thales
Herakles phased array multi-function radar system, which provides
2D surface and 3D air search and fire control functions, including
multiple tracking, target designation and command uplink for the
Aster missiles. Very little information is publicly known about the
Herakles system, and the Delta class may be the first ships to
carry it. A variable depth active low frequency towed sonar by EDO
provides these ships with good underwater detection in coastal
waters.
Combat management, bridge management and ship's systems were all
developed jointly by Singapore's Defence Science & Technology
Agency and Defence Science Organization, and contain innovative
automation features that have reduced crew requirements. For
example, all combat systems can be accessed from Standard Operating
Common Consoles, which have weapons control functions and a 20 inch
color LCD display.
This enables the RSS Formidable to function at full combat
efficiency with a ships complement is 70, plus an additional 15 for
helicopter support. In comparison, the La Fayette class has a crew
of 164.
The RSS Formidable's propulsion is via four MTU diesels in Combined
Diesel on Diesel (CODAD) configuration, which give her a top speed
of about 50 kilometers an hour, and a cruising range of
approximately 7,200 kilometers. This will enable the Formidable and
her sisters to operate as true Blue Water units. Currently, the
only RSN ships that can operate
in Blue Water Conditions are its 8,500 ton Endurance Class
LSTs.
For information and images of the Project Delta stealth
frigates:
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/weapons/frigate/index.asp
For a comparison with the Al Riyadh class:
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/al_riyadh/index.html
--Shawn Chung
From StrategyPage - http://www.strategypage.com//fyeo/howtomakewar/default.asp?target=htsurf.htm&base=htsurf&Prev=0&BeginCnt=31
