LCS progressing well, sea trials expected mid-year, says navy chief

 

Navy chief Abdul Rahman Ayob said the success of the first littoral combat ship is critical in determining the continuation of the project until the fifth ship.

PETALING JAYA: The navy’s first littoral combat ship (LCS) is expected to be ready for sea trials in May or June, says navy chief Abdul Rahman Ayob.

Rahman said that after the completion of the sea trials, systems and equipment will be installed in the LCS over a period of 22 months.

By the end of 2026, the LCS will be handed over to the navy for operational tests.

“That is the first ship and if the programme goes well, we will receive the second LCS eight months after that, followed by the third unit eight months later, and the fourth unit,” Bernama quoted him as saying at an event at the Tanjung Gelang naval base in Kuantan, Pahang, today.

The LCS project, said to be the largest defence procurement in Malaysia’s history with a total cost of RM9 billion, came under intense scrutiny last year after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that not one of the six ships had been completed although Putrajaya had already paid RM6.08 billion.

In February, defence minister Mohamad Hasan said the project cost would remain the same although the navy would only receive five ships instead of the original six.

He said there would be no reduction in the cost previously approved because of the many variations from the original order as well as inflation.

Earlier, Rahman witnessed the recommissioning of KD Sri Sabah and KD Sri Sarawak. The patrol boats were first commissioned in 1967 but were transferred to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in 2006.

They were returned to the navy in 2020 and will now be deployed off Sabah’s east coast. - FMT