KUALA LUMPUR: Turkiye has been identified as the preferred country to supply an alternative missile system for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), says the Defence Minister.
Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the government would begin negotiations with Turkiye to finalise the proposed replacement after evaluating alternatives from three countries.
He said Turkiye was selected after considering several factors, including pricing, delivery timelines and initial costs involved.
“We invited Turkiye, France and Italy to submit their proposals and following evaluation, we identified Turkiye as the best option to replace the Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) from Norway.
“We will engage with the Turkish side for further negotiations before making a final decision,” he told reporters after the ministry’s 2026 Innovation Day celebration here yesterday.
Mohamed Khaled said Malaysia had accepted that it would not receive the NSM missiles from Norway despite having made payments and fulfilled its obligations under the procurement agreement, as the Norwegian government had not issued the necessary export licence.
He said the government was pursuing the contractual dispute resolution process which involved several stages before arbitration could begin.
“The first stage, involving amicable negotiations between both parties, was completed without resolution. We will now proceed to establish a dispute resolution committee.”
If the second stage failed, he said the government will proceed to arbitration which can be held in Kuala Lumpur under the terms of the contract, he said.
“However, all these processes will take time, and we cannot predict when the matter will be resolved or when the Norwegian company will refund the money.”
Mohamed Khaled stressed that Malaysia would not wait for the refund before seeking an alternative missile system for its naval vessels.
He said the proposed Turkish missile system has so far looked compatible and able to integrate with the vessels, but these aspects would be examined further during negotiations.
He also clarified that the replacement would not require Malaysia to purchase an entirely new stock of missiles as the same missile system had already been ordered for the Navy’s Littoral Mission Ships (LMS).
“This will allow Malaysia to obtain an initial supply earlier, potentially by 2028, instead of waiting until 2029 if a fresh order has to be placed.”
Mohamed Khaled said the missile had a surface-to-surface range of 250km and considered competitive in terms of its capabilities.
He said Malaysia would mainly incur additional costs for the launchers and integration work, rather than having to purchase an entirely new missile stock.
