The Republic of Singapore Navy has unveiled the RSS Persistence, the third vessel in its new class of landing ship tanks (LST).
The vessel was christened by Madam Kho Hui Suan, the wife of Mr Matthias Yao, Minister of State for Defence at the Singapore Technologies Marine yard in Tuas on 13 March 1999.
The RSS Persistence is the third of four LSTs which are to replace the navy's former US County Class LSTs. The first two, the RSS Enudrance and the RSS Resolution, were launched last year.
The LSTs were designed and built by Singapore Technologies Marine. They are 40 percent bigger and travel at almost twice the speed of County Class LSTs.
They also come equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and communication systems, and fewer people will be required to operate them: 65 instead of 130.
Described as the workhorses of the Singapore Armed Forces, the LSTs are used to transport personnel and equipment to training areas overseas. They are also used as training platforms.
The first of the LSTs, RSS Endurance, is expected to be certified fully operational by the end of the year, 1999.
(extracted from The Sunday Times, on 14 March, 1999)