Asian Military Review — May 2017

| may 2017 |^29

NAVAL

directory

Russian corvette Bojkij, third ship of the ‘Steregushchy’ class corvettes

of the Russian Navy, in St. Petersburg on the Neva River in July 2013.

Russia is believed to be looking to build another 30 such ships.

Wikimedia Commons

The Republic Singapore Navy frigate RSS

Steadfast and the corvette RSS Vigilance

are seen here underway during the

2010 Cooperation Afloat Readiness and

Training bilateral Singapore 2010. CARAT

is a series of bilateral exercises involving

the US Navy and allied naval forces.

US Navy

Russians are also working with the Vietnamese to establish a joint submarine

maintenance centre there. According to official Russian naval sources, six

‘Varchavyanka’ conventional hunter-killer submarines are to be built for

deployment to the Pacific Fleet.

Singapore

■ Republic of SingapoRe navy

Ship Type number in Service

‘Challenger’ class conventional 2

hunter-killer submarine

‘Archer’ class conventional 2

hunter-killer submarine

‘Formidable’ class frigate 6

‘Victory’ class corvette 6

‘Independence’ class corvette One to be commissioned in May

2017, plus three under construction

and four more planned. All ships

are expected to be commissioned

by 2020.

‘Fearless’ class offshore patrol vessel 11. Numbers reducing.

‘Endurance’ class amphibious assault ship 4

‘Landsort’ class mine 4

countermeasures vessel

Two new ‘Type 218SG’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines

(SSKs) are on order from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, with deliveries

expected from 2020, to replace the two remaining ‘Challenger’ class SSKs,

which were retired in early 2015. Together with the two existing ‘Archer’

class SSKs (modified ex Royal Swedish Navy ‘Sodermanland’ class boats)

they will form the backbone of the Republic of Singapore Navy’s underwater

fleet from 2020. Plans to build a Joint Multi-Mission Ship (JMMS), developed

from the ‘Endurance’ class, were confirmed in 2014, but a timescale for this

project has yet to be announced. The JMMS will feature a flight deck with five

helicopter landing spots, and a well deck. To date, there are no additional

details on the acquisition plans for these ships.

‘Steregushchy’ class corvette 5. 30 more planned.
‘Gremyashchy’ class corvette First one slated for delivery in 2017.
‘Karakurt’ class corvette First one slated for delivery in late
2017, another under construction.

Aside from upgrading the Pacific Fleet’s main far east Vladivostok and

Viliuchinsk naval bases, Russia has built anchorages in Primorye Territory,

on Sakhalin Island, and is reportedly planning a base at Matua in the Kuril

Islands. Russia’s navy is also seeking facilities beyond its territory, and is

continuing negotiations with Vietnam for access by Russian warships to the

Vietnamese People’s Navy base in Cam Ranh Bay, southeast Vietnam. The