Defence Ministry to procure two aircraft to detect submarines in South China Sea

KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry is in the midst of procuring two Maritime Patrol Aircrafts (MPA) from Italy that have the ability to detect the presence of submarines in the South China Sea area, especially in the Sabah region.

Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said this is because the long-range radar (LRR) of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) at the Labuan Naval Air Base could not detect submarines and was only able to monitor the airspace which was now more focused towards the South China Sea which has been "busy" lately.