Malaysia is weighing delivery timelines in its search for alternative anti-surface missiles to arm the Maharaja Lela-class littoral combat ships, the first of which is due to be delivered in December.
According to Berita Harian, Defence Minister Khaled Nordin said that among the offers being considered are those from companies based in Italy, France, Türkiye, South Korea, the US, and Japan.
However, he said Malaysia will first consider the available stock to ensure the wait time is not too long.
“The missiles will need to be ordered, but the problem is that new orders will take four to five years to complete. Perhaps the US is building its own ships, as well as Italy, so I want to ask first.
“This is so that the ship we will receive in December will have a surface-to-surface missile system. Missiles with a range of 300km are what we want,” he reportedly said at an event in Kota Tinggi, Johor.
Maharaja Lela-class ships were originally slated to be armed with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) as their main offensive weapon. The same missiles are also replacing the Exocet missiles used by the navy’s Lekiu-class corvettes.
While the actual performances of missiles are usually classified, their manufacturer, Kongsberg, claims the NSM has a range of “more than 300km”.
For context, such a missile would have just enough reach to strike Luconia Shoals (Gugusan Beting Patinggi Ali) - which are claimed by Malaysia but frequently patrolled by the Chinese Coast Guard - from the waters around the local navy base in Labuan.
In contrast, Malaysia’s existing Exocet missiles have a range of around 70km for the ship-launched variant and 50km for the submarine-launched variant.
While Putrajaya initially had an agreement with Norwegian company Kongsberg, the deal was called off after the Norwegian government revoked the firm’s license to export the missiles to Malaysia, citing a change in policy in response to the evolving global security landscape.
Malaysia is seeking over RM1 billion in compensation for the cancellation and has publicly chastised the Norwegian government’s actions.
Talks with the US
At the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend, Khaled also reportedly spoke to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth about Malaysia’s predicament in acquiring the NSM.
“We have asked the US for its views to help find a solution to the issue at hand because it is well known that there is a US company that manufactures the same missile as Norway.
“We have asked whether the US is willing to allow the sale of the missile to us to address the problem at hand,” Bernama quoted him as saying on Friday, apparently referring to NSMs manufactured by US defence firm Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg.
Meanwhile, at the event today, Khaled said Malaysia will press ahead with the lawsuit against Kongsberg despite an apology from the Norwegian government.
“But if Norway truly wants friendship with Malaysia, they can help by advancing the over RM1 billion being claimed.
“The missiles cost more than RM600 million. Then, there are indirect costs like training, system integration, and others.
“All that involves costs, so who is going to pay for their failure?” Berita Harian quoted him as asking. - Mkini
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