ST Engineering announces major Kuwaiti naval subcontract

Kuwait's first Falaj 3 at the ADSB yard in February 2026. (Edge Group)

Singapore's ST Engineering announced on 1 April that it has been awarded a subcontract worth about USD600 million to design and supply the platform systems for eight “missile gun boats” that Kuwait has ordered from Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB).

ST Engineering said that as well as supplying “the full suite of platform design, integration, and technical expertise” for all eight of the Kuwaiti vessels, it will build three of then at its yard in Singapore. ADSB would build the remaining five.

It said in a press release that the boats will be based on the Fearless-class patrol vessels built for Singapore's navy. They are also similar to those of a separate order, made for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy in 2021, for four Falaj 3 patrol vessels.

ADSB was contracted in June 2025 for the eight Falaj 3 patrol vessels for the Kuwait Naval Force. When the order was announced Edge Group, ADSB's parent, said the contract was worth USD2.45 billion including ammunition, logistics and in-service support, making it the largest naval export programme in the region.

Senior Kuwaiti naval officers attended a ceremony at ADSB's yard in February 2026 to launch Al Noukhitha (P 6202), the first of the eight, although videos released by Edge and the Kuwaiti Armed Forces did not show the vessel in the water.

The UAE's first Falaj 3, Altaf (P 163), was officially commissioned in February 2025, but was seen out of the water at the ADSB yard during Al Noukhitha 's launch ceremony a year later.

Altaf