Govt to acquire Turkish missiles for LCS

 Defence minister Khaled Nordin says the decision was based on price, delivery timelines and upfront costs.

Defence minister Khaled Nordin said the decision on the missiles for the navy’s littoral combat ships was made after the government evaluated proposals from several other countries, including France and Italy. (malaysiandefence.com pic)

PETALING JAYA:

The government will fit the navy’s littoral combat ships (LCS) with anti-ship missiles from Turkey, replacing the current naval strike missile (NSM) from Norway, says defence minister Khaled Nordin.

Khaled said the decision was made after the government evaluated proposals from several other countries, including France and Italy, based on price, delivery timelines and upfront costs, Bernama reported.

“We decided that Turkey provided the best alternative.

“We will engage with the Turkish side for further negotiations so that we can finalise the matter,” he was quoted as saying after attending the ministry’s Innovation Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur.

In October, Khaled said the government was mulling allocating RM700 million to more than RM1 billion for a new surface-to-surface missile system after Norway cancelled the export licence for the system intended for the LCS.

Malaysia previously ordered the system from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace under a 2018 contract to equip six LCS.

However the Norwegian government revoked the export permit, saying exports of its defence technology would be limited to its “allies and closest partners”. - FMT