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Radar cross section (RCS) reduction features have been incorporated into the Formidable class design, with inclined hull sides and bulwarks as well as concealment of ship boats and replenishment-at-sea equipment behind low-RCS curtains. Subsequent maintenance and mid-life retrofit will be done by ST Marine.Ĭonstruction of Formidable began in late 2002, when the keel was laid down in Lorient in November 2002. Under the arrangement, DCNS was to design and build the first frigate in its Lorient yard in France while the remaining five frigates were to be built locally by Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine at its Benoi yard in Singapore. A key feature of the contract was the technology transfer arrangement. In March 2000, the Singapore Ministry of Defence awarded the contract to DCNS for the design and construction of six frigates. The United States, Sweden and France participated in the bid for the contract. The search for a replacement for the aging Sea Wolf-class missile gunboats, which entered into service in 1972, started in the mid-1990s. The six ships form the First Flotilla of the RSN. The Formidable-class multi-role stealth frigates are the latest surface platforms to enter into service with the Republic of Singapore Navy, and are multi-mission derivatives of the French Navy's La Fayette-class frigate.