Swedish defence technology Saab and Singaporean counterpart ST Engineering have proposed a variant of the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Independence-class littoral mission vessel (LMV) for possible acquisition by the Estonian Navy.
Saab and ST Engineering had also collaborated on the development of the RSN's LMVs. Saab Kockums was responsible for the basic design work while ST Engineering undertook the detailed design and the actual construction of all eight ships.
The LMV variant being proposed for Estonia will have a crew complement of 23, a deck gun, a limited number of surface-to-air missiles, a multi-mission bay, a stern ramp for deploying unmanned vessels, and a flight deck capable of accommodating a medium utility helicopter or smaller unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Estonian Navy currently only has eight vessels in active service. Four of these are 577-tonne and 450-tonne mine countermeasures vessels purchased secondhand from the UK and Denmark while the remaining four are patrol boats formerly operated by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board.
