From coast to coast

The crew of RSS Stalwart have certainly been busy – they’ve sailed across the globe, called at four ports, and carried out exercises with 29 international navies!

Find out what the 72-strong crew of the Republic of Singapore’s (RSN’s) Formidable-class frigate have been up to since they set sail on 2 Jun for Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).

Leading a task unit at RIMPAC

Held from 28 Jun to 2 Aug in the waters off Hawaii, RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise.

About 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel from 29 nations took part in this year’s edition.

The RSN played a major role in RIMPAC 2024, leading a task unit that comprised three other ships from the Republic of Korea, Mexico and the United States (US).

The four ships carried out a series of complex naval warfare serials in the air, surface and sub-surface realms. This included manoeuvring drills and underway replenishment.

Why is it important for Singapore to participate in large-scale exercises like RIMPAC?

Commanding Officer (CO) of RSS Stalwart Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Sam Tan said: “It allows us to enhance our operational readiness and, more importantly, strengthen defence relationships through knowledge sharing and network building (which) go a long way in engendering trust among maritime players. This precedes stability in the maritime domain.”

Fire away

One of RSS Stalwart’s highlights at the exercise was the successful firing of two Aster surface-to-air live missiles to take down two simultaneous inbound missiles. These attacking missiles were simulated by high-speed sea-skimming aerial drones.

Communication Systems Specialist Military Expert (ME) 1 Satish Xavier Thangaraj was proud to have been part of the successful live-firing.

He was involved in the work-up simulator training, where he controlled the flight profile of the two simultaneous flying targets.

“(The simulator training) enhanced the team’s precision in tracking and engagement, and allowed us to run various contingencies,” said the 28-year-old.

“By stress-testing different operational conditions, I helped to make sure that the team would be fully prepared for any unexpected challenges during the live firing.”

Observing how navies operated in large-scale exercises like RIMPAC was also an eye-opening experience, he added: “It taught me to be adaptive to operational injects and respond appropriately to the mission objectives.”

Aloha!

On the way to Hawaii, RSS Stalwart led two group sails. The first was the inaugural Southeast Asian Group Sail from 7 to 10 Jun, joined by the navies of Brunei and Indonesia, before calling at Guam.

The second was the Multinational Group Sail (MNGS), which took place from 14 to 25 Jun. RSS Stalwart led eight ships from Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, and the US.

Over 12 days, the ships conducted various drills and exercises, such as gunnery firing and manoeuvring exercises to practise keeping station – maintaining a specific position from a designated “guide” ship.

Ohayo!

RSS Stalwart and her crew then set sail for Yokosuka in Japan, where they conducted a passage exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (JMSDF’s) Asagiri-class destroyer JS Yugiri on 23 Aug.

As part of the exercise, the ships carried out a series of communication serials and tactical manoeuvres.

Ni hao!

For the final leg of their long sail, RSS Stalwart arrived in Zhanjiang, China, to join the People’s Liberation Army (Navy) – or PLA Navy – for Exercise Maritime Cooperation. This is the first time that the bilateral naval exercise has been held in China.

The ship sailed into Ma Xie Naval Base on 29 Aug to a rousing welcome from the PLA Navy. The exercise is being held from 1 to 5 Sep and will comprise a shore and sea phase.

The shore phase took place on 1 and 2 Sep, with the two navies conducting activities such as table-top exercises to coordinate the movement of ships while at sea, and the sharing of best practices by subject matter experts.

On 3 Sep, RSS Stalwart, together with PLANS Type 054A frigate Sanya and PLANS Type 082-II Minesweeper Hejian, set sail for the waters off Zhanjiang for a three-day sea phase.

The ships will be carrying out exercises such as helicopter cross-deck landing, search and rescue, and gunnery firing.

Family away from family

For some, spending months away from home is almost unimaginable – what more when most of it is out at sea where communication is limited.

For ME1 Satish Xavier, this is the longest he has been away from his wife. Thankfully, he has been able to keep in touch with her whenever the ship arrives at a port or when the crew is given time to call home with the ship’s WiFi service. 

Coxswain ME4 Andy Lim knows that the long sail has not been an easy one for the servicemen and women.

He recalled a particularly tough episode when the ship encountered a tropical revolving storm – a storm system occurring over tropical oceans that leads to thunderstorms, heavy rains and severe sea swells.

Navigation was badly hindered by the severe weather, but the crew had to continue meeting their mission outcomes while handling the rough seas.

“The crew relied on a combination of skill, experience and teamwork to overcome the challenges. For example, the Officer of the Watch and navigation team employed tactical manoeuvres to manage the ship’s course and speed to mitigate the effects of the rough seas.”

“The sense of relief and achievement once we went through the storm was profound, and it reinforced the importance of trust and preparation in sailing,” he added.

Growing as a team

This is why ME4 Lim strongly believes in upholding the standards of a good leader and creating a positive environment for his crew, to help them get through the long and difficult times.

“We regularly update the crew on the status of their journey. We also recognise and reward hard work, and celebrate every win and achievement, no matter how small,” said the 46-year-old.

As for LTC Tan, he is heartened to see his crew grow from strength to strength since they first set sail in June.

“Not only have they improved their individual competencies, they’ve also matured as a team and become more confident in executing complex serials with our foreign counterparts.

“The constant need to adapt and perform under varying weather conditions has also built up their mental toughness, making them more resilient and better prepared for the rigors of naval operations.”