Khaled Nordin says alternative missile deals Malaysia is seeking with other nations will only take three years for delivery and installation.
Khaled said this timeframe in the Auditor-General’s Report 2/2026 released on Monday was based on the missile contract with Norwegian defence firm Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, which was unilaterally scrapped by Norway.
The firm had been given time extensions due to “certain reasons” as components of the missiles required approval by Washington, while the Covid-19 pandemic had also affected the timeframe, he said.
He said the LCS 1 would be able to start operations much earlier now that Malaysia was seeking alternative missile deals with Korea, Turkey and France.
“The delivery time would be just three years. So we are weighing all of these factors, and we will ensure that the time it would take to deliver and install the missiles would not be as long as the Norway contract.
“Therefore, we believe that, based on these factors, the projection of the LCS 1 being completed in December 2035 is inaccurate and untrue,” he said when winding up the debate on the A-G’s report for his ministry today.
Khaled said the LCS would still be armed with several weapons systems, although not with a surface-to-surface missile system yet.
“It will still be equipped with surface-to-air missiles as well as surface-to-sea missiles to attack or counter any threat from submarines.
“We also have electromagnetic war systems to counter threats and a combat management system that integrates all these capabilities with the ship’s radar and tracking systems,” he said.
He also said the air force could help take on targets further away in the absence of the surface-to-surface missile system.
Malaysia is seeking more than RM1 billion in compensation from Kongsberg after Norway revoked its export permit for the missile system meant for the LCS.
Malaysia ordered the system from Kongsberg under a 2018 contract to equip six LCS vessels.
The A-G’s report said the LCS 1 could be handed over unarmed when completed in December this year, and that it may only be fully operational in December 2035.
It found that trials and commissioning for the LCS 1 could not be completed on schedule, with five complementary contracts for weapons and support systems still incomplete.
The audit also found that as of June 25, the overall LCS project was 7.55% behind schedule across all five ships, with delays ranging from 30 to 108 days. - FMT
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