Malaysia Buys 3 MILGEM Corvettes from Turkey

Turkey will construct three vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy under the Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 Project.

The deal is part of Malaysia’s Littoral Mission Ship (LMS Batch II) Tender and was marked by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) during a ceremony at Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries.

This marks Malaysia's first government-to-government defense equipment procurement agreement. The deal was formalized at a ceremony attended by Turkish defense industry chief Haluk Görgün and Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who announced that STM will build the ships in Turkey.

STM’s general manager, Özgür Güleryüz, noted the company's ongoing projects with Pakistan and Ukraine and stated that construction for Malaysia's ships will commence in 2024, with delivery expected in three and a half years. The ships will be equipped with 30mm Muhafiz gun system, Cenk 3D search radar, Ares electronic support system, Akrep fire control radar, and Atmaca anti-ship missiles from Roketsan. Havelsan will provide the combat management and 76mm gun fire control systems.

The vessels, measuring 99.56 meters in length and 14.42 meters in width with a draft of 3.94 meters, will displace around 2,500 tons. They will achieve a maximum speed of 26 knots and have a range exceeding 4,000 nautical miles at 14 knots, accommodating up to 111 personnel with an endurance of 14 days.