The Singapore Navy is equipping itself with Blue Spear anti-ship missiles, replacing the US Harpoon missiles.

The Singapore Navy's Formidable-class frigate RSS Steadfast has officially been confirmed to have replaced its US-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles with the Blue Spear cruise missile. This product is the result of a collaborative research effort between Singapore and Israel, making Singapore the second country in Southeast Asia to possess cruise missiles deployed on its surface warships.

Technical specifications and combat capabilities of the Blue Spear missile

The Blue Spear missile was developed by the Proteus Advanced Systems (PAS) joint venture – a 50-50 partnership between ST Engineering (Singapore) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), established in 2020. This weapon system is based on the Israeli Navy's Gabriel V missile, shortening the research and development time to just over three years.

According to published technical data, the Blue Spear missile has a maximum range of over 290 km, significantly surpassing the range of the older Harpoon series. The missile possesses an advanced guidance system with a guidance head capable of strong electronic warfare resistance, automatically calculating and adjusting its flight path when attacking moving targets at sea.

In addition, the Blue Spear incorporates a sea-skimming flight mode, which minimizes its radar cross-section, making it difficult for enemy defense systems to detect, track, and intercept it.

Equitable technology joint venture model

In the defense industry, the establishment of a 50% joint venture between a leading military technology corporation and a Southeast Asian country is a relatively rare model. Unlike typical procurement contracts, the Singaporean side is directly involved in the research and production of core components.

Specifically, ST Engineering contributed the booster rocket engine and the multi-purpose explosive warhead system. Meanwhile, partner IAI handled the design of the guidance system, control management software, and data link system. ST Engineering's decades of experience in weapons and ammunition production was a decisive factor in enabling the joint venture to complete the product in a short time.

The strategy of weapons self-reliance on next-generation warships.

Compared to some other regional defense cooperation programs that rely heavily on passive technology transfer or financial contributions, the Blue Spear project represents a significant step forward in Singapore's technological mastery.

In the near future, the Blue Spear missile will be uniformly equipped on the six existing Formidable-class frigates after upgrades. Simultaneously, this missile has also been selected as the primary anti-ship weapon on the six new 8,000-ton Victory-class multi-purpose combat vessels (MRCVs) currently under construction. Mastering this jointly owned missile system gives the Singapore Navy complete control over its supply and operational planning, free from export restrictions from foreign countries.