Hyundai Heavy Industries' HDL-13000 concept that might be a contender to Putrajaya's upcoming MRSS programme, which will be funded in the country's 13th Malaysia Plan. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)
Malaysia's Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari has given further details on what the country would procure in its 13th plan, which covers the period spanning 2026–30.
Details on these naval procurements were provided during a parliamentary session on 11 July, the official Hansard for which was released on 15 July.
Putrajaya outlines funding for its major national programmes in five-year periods known as ‘Malaysia Plans'.
Adly had previously disclosed in a November 2023 parliamentary address that the 13th Malaysia Plan would see the country acquiring a new hydrographic vessel and three so-called multirole support ships (MRSSs), which are essentially landing platform dock (LPD)-like vessels.
In the session on 11 July, Adly further disclosed that the government would also now allocate funding for a third batch of Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) vessels, four anti-submarine warfare (ASW)-capable helicopters, and six unmanned aerial vehicles.
In June 2024 Malaysia signed for three Ada (MILGEM)-class-derived corvettes with Turkish shipbuilder STM to fulfil requirements under Putrajaya's LMS Batch 2 programme.
Under this contract, STM will build all three 99.5 m corvettes in Türkiye, with all three vessels scheduled for delivery to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) within 3.5 years from its signing.
Adly made no mention on whether the Batch 3 ships would be procured from the same shipbuilder but indicated that it will also comprise three vessels, similar to what was procured in Batch 2. Malaysia's first batch of LMS vessels were procured from China and four hulls were acquired in this tranche.
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