On June 10, 2024, the Turkish Defense Industry Directorate (Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı - SSB) signed an agreement on the construction of three corvettes of the Turkish MILGEM project (Ada type) for the Malaysian Navy as part of the implementation of the Malaysian Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch 2 program. The general contractor for the construction of MILGEM project corvettes for Malaysia under this agreement The Turkish state-owned design and consulting company Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. (STM) is acting, and all three ships will be built at Turkish shipyards. All three corvettes should be commissioned by the end of 2027.
Signing ceremony of the agreement on the construction of three corvettes of the Turkish MILGEM project (Ada type) for the Malaysian Navy as part of the implementation of the Malaysian Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch 2 program. Ankara, 06/10/2024 (c) SSB
The Malaysian Navy's Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) program, first announced in 2016, provides for the construction of a significant number (at least 18) of relatively small multi-purpose warships in the near sea zone. As part of the first stage of the LMS program in China, four 700-ton 69-meter Keris-type small patrol ships were ordered and commissioned into the Malaysian Navy in 2019-2022, of which 18 units were originally planned to be ordered, including those with licensed construction at Malaysian shipyards. However, in 2020, the Malaysian navy revised the requirements for the LMS program, rejecting subsequent orders of Keris-type ships and deciding to proceed to the acquisition of larger units at the second stage of the program (LMS Batch 2). After sorting through the design options for larger patrol ships with enhanced armament, the choice was ultimately made in favor of a full-fledged multi-purpose corvette of the Turkish type.
According to published materials and a model of the MILGEM project corvette in the proposed design for the Malaysian Navy, presented at the Defense and Security Asia (DSA) 2024 defense exhibition, held from 6 to 9 May 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian version of the corvette will be generally similar to ships built for the Turkish Navy, but Malaysian corvettes will additionally receive four four-container vertical launchers of the South Korean naval anti-aircraft missile system Haegung (K-SAAM) of short range (up to 20 km). Malaysia, apparently, will become the first foreign customer of this SAM. The remaining corvette systems for the Malaysian Navy will be predominantly Turkish-made, including Atmaca anti-ship missiles. A 30 mm remote-controlled Aselsan SMASH artillery system will be installed in the aft part of the Malaysian ships.
Malaysia thus became the third foreign customer of the Turkish MILGEM corvettes (Ada type) after Pakistan (which ordered four ships under the 2018 agreement, two of them with a construction in Pakistan) and Ukraine (which ordered two ships in 2020).
The MILGEM corvette became the first large warship (total displacement 2,400 tons, length 99.6 meters) of the Turkish project. In fact, the project was developed for the Turkish Navy at one time with the participation of the Nikolaev State Research and Design Center for Shipbuilding (CPCC, Ukraine). In total, the Turkish Navy planned to have 12 corvettes of this type, but in the end, only four ships were authorized and built. The construction of the F 511 Heybeliada lead corvette has been carried out at the Turkish State Naval shipyard Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Istanbul since January 2007 and the ship was commissioned into the Turkish navy in September 2011. The second corvette F 512 Büyükada was delivered to the Turkish Navy in September 2013, the third corvette F 513 Burgazada in November 2018, and the fourth corvette F 514 Kınalıada in September 2019.
A model of a corvette of the Turkish MILGEM project (Ada type) in the proposed design for the Malaysian Navy at the Defense and Security Asia (DSA) 2024 defense exhibition in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), May 2024 (c) www.navalnews.com
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The appearance of the corvette of the Turkish MILGEM project (Ada type) in the proposed design for the Malaysian Navy (c) STM via www.navalnews.com
Video (from) www.navalnews.com :
