Malaysian Navy Launches First Home Made Littoral Combat Ship

The Royal Malaysian Navy has launched first home built Littoral Combat Ship 'KD Maharaja Lela' at the Boustead Naval Shipyard in Lumut Thursday.

The RM9 billion LCS took one and half years to complete at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base, after it’s keel was laid down in March of last year, Malaysian Digest reported.

The move will be followed by five sister ships, all based on the Gowind corvette designed by France’s Naval Group (formerly DCNS).

Five more LCS’ in currently in the pipeline will be delivered to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) by 2023, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said. He adds that apart from the home built LCS, the nation’s security is expected to be further boosted by the arrival of Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) from China. 

"RMN is expected to receive four Littoral Mission Ships in stages, with two of these vessels currently being built in China, while the remaining will be built in the country," said Hishammuddin.

As of July 8, the RMN had dispatched a team of 11 officers from the navy, together with nine personnel from the BNS to Wuhan, China.

The navy and BNS personnel will spend 37 months to monitor the ship-building process at Wuchang Shipyard, he added.

“I also learnt that they are currently on Basic Design Review stage. This is to ensure that the ships' specifications followed our needs and requests.” Hishammuddin Hussein added.

"Based on the progress, I believe, we will be receiving the first LMS vessel by October 2019," he said.