KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Navy's littoral mission ship (LMS) Batch 2 programme remains on schedule with all three vessels expected to be delivered by the end of next year, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
He said the progress reflected the positive development of the programme since the procurement agreement was signed in 2024.
"We are grateful that since the agreement was signed in 2024, the construction of the vessels has progressed according to schedule.
"Last Sunday (June 7), our second LMS vessel was launched and named, and we expect it to be delivered to the Navy by the end of next year, together with the other vessels," he told reporters after the Majlis Anugerah Kecemerlangan Pendidikan (AKP) 2026 at Wisma Perwira ATM here on Tuesday (June 9).
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Khaled said the three vessels are expected to be commissioned in stages after they are handed over to the Navy.
"The commissioning schedule is October (next year) for the first vessel, November for the second and December for the third. Everything is progressing well," he added.
Earlier, Khaled announced that the second LMS Batch 2 vessel had been named Raja Laut following the consent of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
He said the name was chosen in honour of a Selangor nobleman and visionary administrator who played a prominent role in the state's development in the late 19th century.
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The naming and launching ceremony was officiated by Sultan Sharafuddin and Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who attended the event at the Istanbul Shipyard in Türkiye.
The launch followed the successful launching of the first LMS Batch 2 vessel, Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil, on May 24.
According to Khaled, the LMS Batch 2 programme is the first government-to-government (G2G) collaboration between Malaysia and Türkiye involving the procurement of Navy warships.
He said the three vessels are expected to strengthen the country's maritime defence capabilities and support the Navy's 15-to-5 Transformation Programme, which aims to modernise and streamline the fleet.
