Thai frigate competition among potential Lockheed Martin deals for ships, helos in Asia

Lockheed Martin is considering offering its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in response to a request for proposals (RfP) from the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) for a frigate, the US-headquarted group confirmed on 25 January.

The Thai government finally approved funding of up to USD1 billion in September 2012 to procure two modern frigates over the coming years. The requirement had previously been put on hold for more than a decade due to funding issues. Government support finally came as a result of economic expansion and the need to enhance the combat capability of the RTN.

Confirmation of Lockheed Martin's interest in the programme came from Doug Laurendeau, business development director of the company's ship and aviation systems unit. It is one of a number of opportunities that Lockheed Martin is pursuing in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

Lockheed Martin would be likely to face competition to meet the Thai frigate requirement from South Korea and Germany. Platforms known to be under consideration include the DW3000H frigate design from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and the MEKO platform of Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.