TSAMTO, May 16. Malaysia and Turkey are holding final negotiations before signing a contract for the purchase of additional coastal patrol ships LMS (Littoral Mission Ships) of the second batch (Batch II) for the Malaysian Navy.
According to Berita Harian, this was announced on May 9 by Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin at a meeting with journalists after the opening of the center of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI or TUSAS – Turk Havacilik ve Uzay Sanayii A.S.) in Malaysia, called TUSAS Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
A day earlier, the Bernama agency confirmed that we are talking about the construction of ships based on the ADA-class corvette (MILGEM) designed by the Turkish company Savunma Teknolojieri Muhendislik (STM).
Ozgur Guleruz, Director General of STM, said that negotiations with the Malaysian Navy and the Ministry of Defense on the construction of new ships, which lasted almost two years, "are going smoothly."
Answering a question from journalists about Turkey's invitation to the Malaysian side to become a partner in the project to develop the fifth-generation KAAN fighter aircraft, led by Turkish Aerospace Industries, M.Khaled said that, in his opinion, the two countries can explore the possibility of broad cooperation in the field of aviation technology.
Regarding the opening of the TUSAS Malaysia Sdn Bhd center, he added that the opening of such a hub would increase the country's capabilities in the field of aerospace technology production and development. M.Khaled highly appreciated Turkey's willingness to share defense and aerospace technologies with Malaysia, reflecting the special relationship between the two countries.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, it became known in January 2024 that the Malaysian government decided to build additional coastal patrol ships of the LMS of the second batch according to the Turkish project.
On January 6, 2024, Defense Security Asia reported that the Malaysian Ministry of Defense is conducting a legal examination (audit) of four Turkish shipbuilding companies (STM, Dearsan Shipyard, ASFAT and TAIS Shipyard) before deciding which of them will be involved in the project.
Malaysian Defense Minister M. Khaled announced in March 2024 that the purchase of the LMS Batch II would be carried out on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement with Turkey. The Malaysian Ministry of Finance approved the project on January 18, 2024, after which on February 5, 2024, the Ministry of Defense sent STM a "letter of intent", and on February 8, 2024, the company agreed to negotiations as a representative of the Turkish government.
As noted, in order to avoid problems that arose during the construction of ships of previous projects, the construction of three ships of the new batch will be carried out on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement between Malaysia and Turkey. It is expected that the construction of the first three ships under the LMS Batch II project will begin in 2025. Five more ships of this type will be built as part of the 13th plan of the Malaysian Plan (2026-2030). LMS Batch II ships will be larger than LMS Batch I and equipped with NSM (Naval Strike Missile) anti-ship missiles of the Norwegian Kongsberg.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim, in his address to Parliament on October 13, 2023, stated that the Malaysian government had allocated 2.4 billion rubles. Malaysian ringgit (about $515 million) for the purchase of three coastal patrol ships LMS Batch II.
