STM Lays Keel Of First M’sian Littoral Mission Ship

TURKIYE’S STM has laid the keel for the first Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) at Istanbul Shipyard, Turkiye. The ceremony was attended by the RMN chief Admiral Zulhelmy Ithnain, the Malaysian Ministry of Defence secretary general Lokman Hakim Ali, as well as STM’s deputy general manager Bulent Soydal.

This keel laying follows the steel cutting which was commenced last December. STM will undertake the ship design, project management (including construction management), material/system procurements, integration design and assembly, testing and Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) activities, as well as the preparation of the design and ILS documents related to the Project.

Malaysia opted to procure three of STM’s ADA-class corvette design for the project in a government-to-government (G2G) deal, making STM the main contractor for the project. The same class of vessels are operated by the Turkish Naval Forces and the Pakistan Navy.  With that, the first LMSB2 vessel is expected to be completed and launched in mid-2026 and a slated for handover to the RMN by the end of 2027.

STM will turn to the Turkish defence sector for such equipment as the Combat Management System; the Gun Fire Control System, to be supplied by HAVELSAN; and the 3D Search Radar, Fire Control Radar, IFF, 30mm Gun, ESM and Chaff Decoy System, as well as other electronic sensors, to be supplied by ASELSAN.  ROKETSAN will be supplying its ATMACA Surface-to-Surface G/M System.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:RMN)