The first Littoral Combat Ship, KD Maharajalela, begins sea trials with commissioning delayed to December 2025, as overall project progress lags behind schedule.
KUALA LUMPUR: The first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 1), KD Maharajalela, has begun its first sea trial to test key systems.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the trial marks the initial process to ensure the vessel is seaworthy.
He confirmed the shipyard-level sea trial phase for LCS 1 had already commenced on 20 January.
“Although there has been a delay compared with the original schedule, LCS 1, which stood at 82.90% progress as of last December, has been successfully launched,” he said in Parliament.
Mohamed Khaled was responding to a question on the vessel’s status and commissioning schedule.
He said preparations are actively under way to enable full sea trials for LCS 1 to begin in early April.
A report from Lumut Naval Shipyard (LUNAS) states the commissioning schedule for LCS 1 has been revised to December this year.
“There is indeed a four-month delay,” the minister confirmed.
He provided updated timelines for the subsequent vessels in the RM11.2 billion project.
LCS 2 is now scheduled for commissioning in August 2027, while LCS 3 remains on track for December 2027.
LCS 4 is slated for August 2028 and LCS 5 for April 2029.
The minister revealed the actual overall progress of the LCS project has reached 75.75%.
This lags behind the planned progress of 81.57% for the five-ship programme.
Current expenditure for the project stands at RM8.3 billion, approximately 74% of the total contract value.
Mohamed Khaled said the ministry has established various monitoring platforms to ensure transparency and oversight.
These include the Project Management Review and Project Monitoring Committee.
Responding to a question on crew readiness, he said the Royal Malaysian Navy is giving serious attention to the matter.
The navy aims to ensure trained crew are prepared in line with the vessel’s delivery.
