Global, Land Warfare, Naval Warfare

ST Engineering unveils infantry fighting vehicle, cites Marine interest in ground effect craft

SINGAPORE AIRSHOW — The US Marines have reportedly made inquiries about ST Engineering’s AirFish wing-in-ground effect craft, designed to take off and land on water.

“The US Marines have discussed our 10-seater,” Leon Tan, general manager at ST Engineering told Breaking Defense. The Singapore military “has viewed it” during the show, as well.

The company’s program got a boost yesterday when it received from a civilian Turkish company its first letter of intent to buy up to 20 one of the intriguing craft.

“We are excited to be working with Eurasia Mobility Solutions to introduce our new WIG platform which has the potential to reinvent marine transportation for Turkey’s maritime sector,” said Jeffrey Lam, president of ST Engineering’s commercial aerospace. “This is a significant milestone for ST Engineering’s Commercial Aerospace business as we scale up our engineering and original manufacturing capabilities to develop more innovative and sustainable solutions that connect people and goods along some of the earth’s vast coastal areas.”

Originally developed by a small Singapore company, WigetWorks, the latest model known as AirFish 8 is a commercial craft that can carry up to 10 passengers, including crew, or 1,000 kilos of supplies at a speed of some 90 knots (104 mph).

Demonstrating the wide range of capabilities that ST Engineering produces, the company also displayed for the first time at the airshow a new hybrid infantry fighting vehicle intended for export. Designed to shield the 11 to 12 troopers inside from blast effects, the 77,000 pound Terrex S5 Trooper has an isolated floor, and the seats for troops are mounted to the ceiling.

It includes an autonomous targeting system, with the human remaining in the loop for the final decision to shoot, Tan said. The standard version boasts a 30mm gun which can be fired from inside the vehicle. It has bright and crisp touchscreen displays for driving, maintaining and operating the IFV’s various sensors. Breaking Defense was allowed inside the vehicle but no photography was permitted.

The touch screen in the troop cabin offers a “Manned-Unmanned Teaming” button that allows the system to slave with an unmanned vehicle. It also offers high definition cameras that offer 360 degree overwatch.

The company plans to offer a range of five vehicles: the Trooper; a command vehicle; an anti-tank guided missile variant; one rigged with mortars; a fire support version with a 105mm gun; all with an eye on the export market. The company also expects to offer an amphibious version.

In a later interview with Chua Jin Kiat, executive vice president for international defense at ST Engineering, he confirmed that his company’s joint venture with Israeli Aerospace Industries — Proteus Advanced Systems — has delivered the first Blue Spear anti-ship missiles to Estonia. It’s a subsonic air breathing, sea-skimming missile able to be fired either from land or from a ship, with a range of 180 miles. The missile can be launched using a standard launcher that can be fitted either to a ship or to a truck.

The joint venture made its first sale to Estonia in October 2021.