KUALA LUMPUR, 5 APRIL – Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Utama Mohamad Hasan stated that the Second Batch of Litorral Mission Ship (LMS Batch 2) is designed to have high speed.

According to him, this is to enable the ship to be used in rapid deployment for interception purposes.

He added that the ship has a weapon system capable of striking surface and air targets.

“This LMS is faster and can be deployed rapidly for us to maneuver so that it acts as an interceptor,

“It’s just that the LMS does not have surface to sub (anti submarine warfare),” he said at the National Assembly, yesterday.

He also expressed the hope that the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara would approve the acquisition of 3 LMSB2s.

“The 3 LMSs that will be acquired are from countries that have a clear capability and record of building ships,” he said.

Yesterday, the Minister of Defence insisted that national sovereignty, especially in the waters of the South China Sea, cannot be compromised and must be defended.

He stated that the country needs to respond by placing their assets to demonstrate presence (show off force) and assert the country’s sovereignty.

“If people park ships, we don’t want to park boats. We don’t want war, but we should not be looked down upon (looked down upon) by people (outsiders),” he said.

Previously, the Minister of Defence stated that he went to Turkey for the purpose of acquiring LMSB2 from that country.

Although the visit on 20 March did not express any final word on the acquisition of LMS Batch 2, it is expected that this matter to be in focus during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 next May.

Last year, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) voiced their need to acquire combat ships, especially the LMSB2, to fill the navy’s needs.

Meanwhile, a source said that the model and type of ship chosen has not yet been decided although the ADA and C92 ships are common mentions at this point.

LMS is one of the components of RMN’s 15-to-5 Transformation Plan. This ship is designed to carry out enforcement operations (constabulary) and is able to be upgraded to the level of a corvette if needed.

Previously, Malaysia acquired 4 LMS from China. However, these ships are seen as not having the necessary combat capability since the ship’s weapon system only relies on the main cannon.