Three Batch 2 LMS To Be Commissioned By End Of 2027 - Mohamed Khaled

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) -- All three Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) are expected to be fully commissioned by the end of 2027.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the construction of the vessels in Turkiye is progressing smoothly and remains on schedule as set when the contract was signed in 2024.

"We expect these ships to be delivered to our navy by late 2027. According to the estimated timeline, the first vessel will be commissioned in October, followed by the second in November, and the third in December. Everything is progressing well," he said.

He told reporters this at a press conference after the 2026 Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) Education Excellence Award (AKP) presentation ceremony at Wisma Perwira ATM here, today.

Mohamed Khaled added that the second vessel in the Batch 2 series was successfully launched at the Istanbul Shipyard in Turkiye on Sunday.

"The vessel has been named ‘Raja Laut,' after the late 19th-century Selangor nobleman and visionary administrator. The naming and launching ceremony was graced by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, and Tengku Permaisuri Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin," he said.

Mohamed Khaled said this follows the successful launch of the first vessel, ‘Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil,' on May 24.

He added that the LMSB2 programme is a Government-to-Government (G-to-G) cooperation project between Malaysia and Turkiye aimed at bolstering the nation's maritime sovereignty.

Meanwhile, commenting on the RM1 billion claim against a Norwegian defence firm, Mohamed Khaled said the ministry has received a request from the company to discuss the matter.

He stressed the ministry will proceed with the claim according to established procedures.

"We have indeed received a request (letter) from the company to discuss the matter. As of now, we have not met, and we do not know what they intend to discuss. Regardless, our claim remains active and is proceeding," he said.

Norway had previously revoked the export licence for Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and related launcher systems to Malaysia, citing national security concerns.

According to the official website of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KDA), the procurement contract for the NSM was inked between the RMN and the company in April 2018. The contract, valued at 124 million euros (RM571.9 million), was intended to equip the navy's six new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

-- BERNAMA