The Kedah-class patrol vessels of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) currently based in Kota Kinabalu and Kuantan will be equipped with the new Radar Electronic Support Measure (RESM) system, as stated by the Ministry of Defence’s official e-procurement website. recently.

As stated in the official e-procurement website, the Ministry of Defence has advertised a tender for Multimodal Transport Operator (MTO) services for the delivery of RESM equipment for the 17th Patrol Vessel (PV) Squadron.

The 17th PV Squadron refers to a group of six Kedah-class patrol vessels consisting of KD Kedah, KD Pahang, KD Perak, KD Terengganu, KD Kelantan and KD Selangor.

Four of the patrol vessels are based in Kota Kinabalu while the other two are based in Kuantan.

The tender notice did not include further information about the RESM equipment nor from which country or company it was sourced.

The six new generation Kedah-class patrol vessels “Fitted For But Not With” which were designed based on the design of the Meko 100 corvette by the Blohm + Voss company began to enter the service of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) in the years 2006-2009.

Although the Kedah-class patrol ships weigh 1,800 tons, they are only equipped with a 76mm gun as the main gun, a 30mm gun and a 12.7mm machine gun, due to the FFBNW concept.

How the effort to see the warship equipped with a missile system may work when international defense media last August stated that RMN plans to equip two Kedah-class patrol vessels with “Naval Strike Missile” (NSM) missiles developed by a Norwegian defence firm. , Kongsberg.

The plan to equip two Kedah-class patrol vessels with NSM missiles is expected to cost RM214 million.

The RMN plan to complete two Kedah-class patrol vessels is proposed to be implemented under “Rolling Plan 4” of the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025) which will be funded through the 2024 Budget.

This NSM anti-ship missile has a total weight of more than 400kg with a high subsonic speed of between 0.7-0.9 Mach and an operational range of more than 185km.

It can not only bomb enemy warships in the ocean but with “Autonomous Target Recognition” (ATR), this NSM missile can also accurately destroy targets on land.

The NSM is a passive, sea-skimming missile with high maneuverability to help it defeat enemy air defense systems.

With the improvement of the more powerful combatant system, it will terrify opponents and friends, especially when conducting patrols in the country’s waters, especially in the South China Sea.