PETALING JAYA: The steel cutting ceremony for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) has officially kicked off at Istanbul Shipyard in Turkiye on Wednesday (November 4).
The ceremony is a symbolic event to mark the beginning of a ship’s construction, which was officiated by RMN chief Admiral Datuk Zulhelmy Ithnai, according to a post by RMN on its official Facebook page.
The ships’ construction is expected to be completed in 2027 before being handed over to the RMN.
The ceremony was witnessed by a delegation from the Defence Ministry led by deputy secretary-general (Development), Dr. Mohd Bakhari bin Ismail along with RMN representatives and the LMSB2 project team.
Also present were Malaysia’s ambassador to Turkiye Sazali Mustafa Kamal and Turkish defence firm Savunma Teknolojileri Muhendislik (STM) general manager Ozgür Güleryüz.
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The RMN selected the ADA class corvette ship’s design through a government-to-government (G2G) memorandum of understanding (MoU) with STM appointed as its main contractor.
“The ADA Class corvette has been operated by the Turkish Naval Forces and the Pakistan Navy.
“Additionally, corvettes of the same class are currently under construction and undergoing testing phases for acquisition by the Pakistan Navy and the Ukrainian Navy,” the Navy said in its post.
It is also said that the LMSB2 ship has “multidimensional” functions in warfare consisting of anti-surface, anti-air, and electronic warfare and will enhance RMN’s combat and operational capabilities.
“The ship is also equipped with advanced weapon systems and sensors to be deployed for missions in the country’s maritime domain,” RMN added in its post.
