Mindef studying offers from other countries to replace Norwegian missiles

 Defence minister Khaled Nordin says three to four countries have submitted offers.

Defence minister Khaled Nordin said key matters being assessed include whether replacing the missile system would require major modifications to the structure of the ships already built. (Kongsberg Defence pic)

PETALING JAYA:

The defence ministry is evaluating offers from several countries to find the best replacement for the naval strike missile (NSM) system whose delivery was cancelled by a Norwegian company.

Defence minister Khaled Nordin said meetings were held with several parties during his visit to Turkey to obtain suitable proposals for consideration by the navy.

“So far, three to four countries have submitted offers, countries we believe are sincere and want to help us.

“We are holding meetings, especially with the navy, to provide solutions. The navy will conduct evaluations of these offers before they are brought to the government,” Bernama reported him as saying in Istanbul today.

Khaled had earlier attended the naming and launch of the navy’s first littoral mission ship (batch 2), officiated by the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Raja Zarith Sofiah.

He said key matters being assessed include whether replacing the missile system would require major modifications to the structure of the ships already built.

Khaled said he had yet to receive updates after a notice of demand was sent to manufacturer Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

He said he would meet his Norwegian counterpart during the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 in Singapore at the end of the month.

“We have informed them that we want to meet the Norwegian defence minister. At the very least, I can meet him and convey that we are unhappy with their actions,” he said.

Earlier, Khaled said Malaysia was seeking more than RM1 billion in compensation from Kongsberg in direct and indirect costs, as the government had already paid 95% of the RM634 million procurement value.

The Norwegian government had revoked the export permit for the NSM ordered by Malaysia under a 2018 contract to equip six littoral combat ships, saying that exports of its defence technology would be limited to its “allies and closest partners”. - FMT