Page 8 - ADT JUNE - JULY 2023 Latest Magazine | GBP

PRIZED ASSETS

As regional tensions simmer, demand grows for
offshore patrol vessels and fast attack craft.

By ARUN SIVASANKARAN

n June this year, the U.S. Navy and the United attack vessels limited to merchant ships. Earlier this year,
Kingdom Royal Navy had to spring into action the UK Royal Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy trained
after three fast-attack vessels belonging to Iran’s together to protect naval fleets against fast-attack craft.
Revolutionary Guard, with armed troops aboard, During the Northern European Joint Expeditionary Force
came threateningly close to a Greek merchant (JEF) exercise in Bergen, Norway, the two navies trialed
I ship in the Strait of Hormuz. helicopter tactics with Martlet and Sea Venom missiles
to repel fast-attack vessels from allied task groups and
The situation deescalated after the U.S. Navy’s guid- individual ships.
ed-missile destroyer USS McFaul and the Royal Navy’s
frigate HMS Lancaster responded to the incident that is Given the many advantages that they provide to users,
one of the latest in a series of maritime incidents involv- fast attack craft are fast becoming an integral part of
ing Iran following the U.S. unilaterally withdrawing from navies around the world. With demand for warships spik-
Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. According ing, regional tensions causing defence budgets to rise,
to the US Navy, Iran has “unlawfully seized” at least five and navies laying a greater focus on intelligence, surveil-
commercial ships transiting Middle Eastern waters over lance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, the global fast
the last few months. attack craft market is projected to grow at a compounded
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 per cent during the 2022-
The incidents are not isolated. Nor is the threat from fast 2027 period.

8 | JUNE-JULY 2023 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/ADT