ISTANBUL — Turkey will build three vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy under the latter’s Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 Project as part of a deal signed by the two nations.
This marks the first time Malaysia has signed a government-to-government agreement to procure defense equipment.
The countries inked the deal at a ceremony Monday, during which Turkish defense industry chief Haluk Görgün and Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said STM will build the littoral missions ships in Turkey.
“During the customization of the ships, products from a number of Turkish defense industry firms, including Havelsan, Aselsan and Roketsan, will be used. I wholeheartedly believe that the LMS Batch 2 Project is just the beginning of long-term collaborations on naval platforms between the two countries,” Görgün said.
STM’s general manager, Özgür Güleryüz, said that following work on naval platforms for the Pakistan Navy, the firm is now focused on continuing the construction of two corvettes for Ukraine.
Güleryüz added that construction for Malaysia’s ships will begin in 2024, with the planned delivery to take place in three and a half years.
Both STM and the Turkish government agency Presidency of Defence Industries declined to provide a contract value.
As part of the project, STM will construct and equip the ships in Turkey with significant participation from other local defense companies, including outfitting them with the 30mm Muhafiz remote controlled stabilized gun system; the Cenk 3D search radar; the Ares electronic support system; the Akrep fire control radar; a chaff decoy system; an identification friend or foe system; and other electronic sensors.
Additionally, the ships will be equipped with the Atmaca anti-ship missile developed by Roketsan, and the combat management system and 76mm gun fire control system developed by Havelsan. There was no information about air defense missiles.
The specifications of the ships are:
- Length: 99.56 meters
- Width: 14.42 meters
- Draft: 3.94 meters
- Displacement: about 2,500 tons
- Maximum speed: about 26 knots
- Cruising speed: 14 knots
- Range: 4000-plus nautical miles at 14 knots
- Personnel capacity: 111
- Endurance: 14 days
Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.
