No Impact On Malaysia In Scorpene Data Leak: Minister

Malaysian Defense ministry is least worried over a recent data leak report as their Scorpene submarines have different specifications from what DCNS had designed for India and Chile.

The leaked documents in The Australian had mentions details about the “entire” combat capability of six Scorpene-class submarines DCNS had designed for India, variants of which are used by Malaysia and Chile ― should be investigated and verified first, the defense minister ministry stated.

“Whatever the result may be, the specifications, characteristics and the abilities of our submarines are unique and different from that owned by Chile or India,” Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Baharum said.

“Therefore, I don't see any reason to worry because of the allegation of data leak that was reported because it does not affect our operations or the security of TLDM's submarines,” Mohd Johari told Malay Mail Online.

The large data leak of 22,400 pages on the secret stealth capabilities of the Indian navy’s new submarines marked “Restricted Scorpene India” also included information on the submarine’s underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system, and communications and navigation systems.

The stealth capabilities of the new Indian submarines that were leaked included the frequencies they gather intelligence at, the levels of noise they make at various speeds, as well as their diving depths, range and endurance, which the Australian newspaper described as sensitive and highly classified information.

Malaysia has commissioned two Scorpene submarines from DCNS in 2009 that were named after former prime ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak.