Tag Archives: ST Engineering

Ground Forces

Cold Weather Vehicle

Oshkosh Defense, LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation company, announced on April 5, 2021, that the National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) has selected Oshkosh Defense and partner, ST Engineering, to participate in the prototype phase for the U.S. Army’s Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV).

Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV)
National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) selects Oshkosh Defense to produce new Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) prototype

The CATV is a new program for a tracked vehicle that operates in extreme cold weather or arctic conditions and is designed to replace the Small Unit Support Vehicles (SUSVs) that have been in service since the early 1980s.

«Oshkosh Defense and ST Engineering bring together an abundance of defense industry and manufacturing expertise to address the U.S. Army’s need for a proven vehicle that can easily maneuver in arctic environments», said Pat Williams, vice president and general manager of U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps programs. «We are confident that the Oshkosh CATV will enable Soldiers to efficiently move personnel and supplies in the most extreme conditions, and we look forward to getting them into the hands of the end user for testing and evaluation».

The Oshkosh CATV is derived from the Bronco 3, a member of the proven, highly effective, and reliable Bronco Family of Vehicles (FoV) by ST Engineering which have been in service in various countries. The Bronco FoV has undergone more than 1,860 miles/2,993 km of performance testing in arctic conditions as well as over 200,000 miles/321,869 km in a theatre of operations on harsh desert terrain. The Oshkosh CATV prototypes will offer built-in mission modularity to accommodate a variety of configurations. A General Purpose vehicle, for example, can be used as a troop carrier, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) or Command and Control vehicle and can be swapped from one configuration to another in the field within 30 minutes by a two-person crew.

«The new vehicle design will be built with the combined expertise of Oshkosh Defense and draws on the rich heritage of the Bronco family of vehicles, a proven, robust and versatile articulated platform which has been in operation since 2001», said Lee Shiang Long, President/Head, Land Systems, ST Engineering.

Oshkosh Defense and ST Engineering will deliver two prototypes – one General Purpose and one Cargo vehicle for testing and Soldier evaluation in Q3FY21. The prototypes will be evaluated on payload, mobility, crush resistance, swimming, and transportability. The U.S. Army has announced plans to issue a follow-on production contract for up to 200 CATVs in FY22.

Navy

LMV Fearless

Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How officiated at the launching ceremony of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)’s eighth and final Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV), RSS Fearless 22, at ST Engineering’s Benoi Shipyard. The LMV was launched by Mrs. Heng Soon Poh, wife of Mr. Heng.

Singapore Navy launches final Littoral Mission Vessel, RSS Fearless 22
Singapore Navy launches final Littoral Mission Vessel, RSS Fearless 22

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Heng highlighted the importance of a strong and capable RSN to safeguard Singapore’s sovereignty. He said, «The navy is every maritime nation’s first line of defence. A strong RSN is key to protecting our maritime sovereignty, and keeping our Sea Lines of Communication open. Singapore’s maritime agencies work together 24/7 to monitor threats. The RSN augments this by conducting patrols around the clock – tirelessly – to keep our waters safe and secure. We do this to protect Singapore, Singaporeans, and our Singaporean way of life».

On the launch of Fearless, Mr. Heng encouraged the crew to «live up to the fearless spirit of our founding fathers and continue to live out its legacy. As you embark on your next journey to defend our sovereignty, our security, and our economic prosperity, I am confident that you will overcome all challenges fearlessly, never flagging in adversity».

The launch of RSS Fearless 22 is a significant milestone in the RSN’s continued transformation to enable it to continue safeguarding the sovereignty and security of Singapore’s waters. The LMV programme is progressing well. Since 2017, five LMVs – RSS Independence 15, RSS Sovereignty 16, RSS Unity 17, RSS Justice 18 and RSS Indomitable 19 – have been commissioned. They have rapidly assumed and effectively executed operational duties, including the DPRK-US Singapore Summit and daily maritime security patrols, and have participated in exercises such as the ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise and Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise. LMVs Fortitude and Dauntless, launched in 2018, are undergoing sea trials and will be commissioned later this year. All eight LMVs will be fully operational by 2020.

Also present at the ceremony was Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong, as well as senior officers from the RSN and the Defence Science and Technology Agency.

Navy

Seventh LMV

ST Engineering’s Marine sector on August 18, 2018 launched the seventh Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV), Dauntless, designed and built for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

The Republic of Singapore Navy's 7th Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV), Dauntless was launched on August 18, 2018
The Republic of Singapore Navy’s 7th Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV), Dauntless was launched on August 18, 2018

Held in a ceremony at ST Engineering’s Benoi Yard, the launch was officiated by Mr. Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance. Mr. Heng’s spouse, Mrs. Heng Hwee Nee was the lady sponsor who named and launched the vessel in accordance with naval traditions. The event was witnessed by senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Singapore Armed Forces.

The LMV programme that started in 2013 will replace the RSN’s current fleet of Fearless-class Patrol Vessels, also designed and built by ST Engineering’s Marine sector in the 1990s. The LMVs are 2.5 times larger, and possess better seakeeping capabilities to operate in higher sea state conditions, amongst other attributes.

«We are excited to launch the seventh of eight LMVs that we are designing and building for the RSN. We are committed to continue the good progress we have made thus far, and look forward to completing the programme with the last and final LMV», said Ng Sing Chan, President for ST Engineering’s Marine sector.

ST Engineering’s Marine sector has delivered five vessels till date – LMV Independence, LMV Sovereignty, LMV Unity, LMV Justice and LMV Indomitable. The sixth vessel, LMV Fortitude was launched in March this year, and the keel for the eighth LMV was laid a month after.

Navy

The Launch of the
Third LMV

Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd (ST Marine), the marine arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering), successfully launched the third Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV), Unity, designed and built for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

The launching of the third Littoral Mission Vessel – Unity, built by ST Marine for the Republic of Singapore Navy
The launching of the third Littoral Mission Vessel – Unity, built by ST Marine for the Republic of Singapore Navy

The ceremony was officiated by Mr. Ong Ye Kung, Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Senior Minister of State for Defence. Mrs. Diana Ong, spouse of Mr. Ong, took on the role as the lady sponsor in accordance with naval traditions to name and launch the vessel at ST Marine’s Benoi Yard. The event was witnessed by many senior officials from Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces.

«The launch of the third Littoral Mission Vessel – Unity is yet another gratified moment for ST Marine», said Ng Sing Chan, President for ST Marine. «We are making great strides in the LMV programme, made possible only with the hard-work and commitment from the project teams from MINDEF, RSN, DSTA and our many other partners. We are honoured to be given the opportunity to prime this contract and showcase our engineering expertise and the ability to manage large scale engineering systems».

ST Marine was awarded the contract by MINDEF in 2013 to design and build eight LMVs for the RSN. The vessels are expected to be delivered from 2016 and be fully operational by 2020. They will replace the PVs designed and built by ST Marine in the 1990s.

The LMV programme is in serial production at ST Marine with eight ships under construction or in the pre-construction phase. The first LMV, Independence has returned to Tuas Naval Base on 26 May 2016 and is performing the Checkout, Integration and Testing (CIT) for weapon systems on-board. The second LMV, Sovereignty is preparing for sea trials while the third LMV, Unity will embark on harbour acceptance trials after her launch.

Smarter, faster and sharper, the LMVs are highly capable warships designed and equipped with advanced combat capabilities and technologies to further strengthen the RSN’s ability in protecting our sea lines of communication. With an innovative design and vast array of sense-making and decision support systems, the LMVs can operate smarter with a leaner crew for greater effectiveness and efficiency. The 262.5-foot/80-meter long vessels are 2.5 times larger in size and can travel faster than the current Fearless-class Patrol Vessels (PVs). They are highly manoeuvrable and can operate in confined and congested littoral waters effectively. Equipped with sharper and advanced combat capabilities and technologies, the LMVs can be quickly configured with mission modules to take on a wide spectrum of operations, allowing the crew to deliver calibrated responses using lethal and non-lethal options to deal with a range of maritime threats.

The third Littoral Mission Vessel on order for the Republic of Singapore Navy, Unity, at its launch ceremony on 13 October 2016
The third Littoral Mission Vessel on order for the Republic of Singapore Navy, Unity, at its launch ceremony on 13 October 2016