Singapore shipbuilder ST Marine has launched an array of surface vessels, which it calls the Vanguard series, and is showcasing them at the IMDEX 2017 maritime and defence exhibition.
Although it comes with four different classes, each class has been designed with a common hull form, which reduces design and engineering cost should a customer acquire more than one class of vessel from the series, said Siow Chee Kiang, ST Marine's vice-president for marketing and branding, in an interview with Jane's at the exhibition in Singapore.
The four classes are the Vanguard 80 patrol vessel, the Vanguard 95 naval research and support vessel, the Vanguard 105 offshore patrol vessel (OPV), and the Vanguard 120 frigate.
"Because they share common hull forms, you actually reduce not only your acquisition costs but also training, logistics, and maintenance costs throughout the vessel's life," said Siow, adding that within each class, the platform has also been designed to embark modularised mission containers so that operators can exercise more flexibility in the ship's deployments.
The Vanguard series' hull form features reduced radar cross-section (RCS) features, can operate up to Sea State 6, and survive up to Sea State 9. Each of the platforms can accommodate one helicopter, and has also been designed with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned surface vessel (USV), and unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) operational needs in mind.
(Jane's)