As the new local patrol fleet grows NS is now addressing the issue of supporting small patrol craft often in the backest of the UNP's backwaters. The UNP Space Patrol used to maintain dozens of small maintenance and refuelling ports but many of these are unsuitable for the larger ships like the Protector NS is replacing the Space Patrol fleet with, also these ports are often becoming life expired and uneconomic.
Instead NS has begun development of the Remote Support Tender. This will be a mobile support base for local patrol assets. It will consist of a ship that is a mixture of oiler, repair and maintenance base and ship resupply. It is thought NS will use the Friendship platform again for the RST (NS now own the design in any case). The ship has been allocated the class number Type 165, work on the first ship could begin this year.
