ISTANBUL: The Defence Ministry is evaluating offers from several countries for a replacement to the naval strike missile (NSM) system delivery cancelled by a Norwegian defence company.
Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said meetings were also held with several parties during his visit to Türkiye to obtain suitable proposals for consideration by the navy.
"There are three to four countries (that have submitted offers)... countries that we are confident and believe are sincere and want to help us.
"We are holding meetings, especially with the navy, to provide solutions and the navy will certainly conduct evaluations of these four offers before they are brought to the government," he told Bernama in conjunction with the naming and launch of the first Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) vessel, Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil, which was officiated by Her Majesty, Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia at the Istanbul shipyard.
Key matters being assessed include whether replacing the missile system would require major modifications to the structure of the ships that have already been built, he added.
"In our considerations, first is our confidence and trust in the offers from certain countries. Second is whether major modifications need to be made to the completed ships, third is the issue of cost and fourth is delivery," adding that the matter would take a considerable time as it was all interconnected.
On follow-up action against Norway, Mohamed Khaled said he had yet to receive any latest developments after a notice of demand was sent to the manufacturer there, adding that he would meet his Norwegian counterpart during the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 in Singapore at the end of this month.
"We have informed them that we want to meet the Norwegian Defence Minister. Whether it is beneficial or not, that is fine. At the very least, I can meet him and inform him that we are unhappy with their actions," he said.
Norway's Foreign Affairs Ministry was reported to have withdrawn several export licences related to certain technologies as part of efforts to tighten the country's export controls, which affected the NSM procurement agreement between the Malaysian navy and KDA that was signed in April 2018 with a contract value of €124mil (RM571.9mil) to equip six new Littoral Combat Ships.
The missile is capable of carrying out long-range maritime strikes at high subsonic speed with a range exceeding 300km. - Bernama
