Turkey and Malaysia signed a historic agreement for the construction of three vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy under Malaysia’s Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 Project, marking Malaysia’s first government-to-government agreement for procuring defense equipment.
The deal was finalized in Ankara on June 10, 2024, during a ceremony attended by Turkish defense industry chief Haluk Görgün and Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Turkish company STM will be responsible for building the littoral mission ships in Turkey.
“During the customization of the ships, products from several Turkish defense firms, including Havelsan, Aselsan, and Roketsan, will be used. I wholeheartedly believe that the LMS Batch 2 Project is just the beginning of long-term collaborations on naval platforms between the two countries,” stated Görgün.
“The successful execution of this project will ensure that the Turkish defense industry is prioritized as a provider in the Royal Malaysian Navy’s other projects in the 15 to 5 Transformation Program to be implemented in the coming period,” he added.
STM’s general manager, Özgür Güleryüz, highlighted the firm’s ongoing projects, mentioning that after working on naval platforms for the Pakistan Navy, STM is now focused on constructing two corvettes for Ukraine.
Güleryüz also announced that the construction of Malaysia’s ships will commence in 2024, with delivery expected in three and a half years.
Both STM and the Turkish government’s Presidency of Defense Industries have not disclosed the contract’s value.
Significant features
As part of the project, STM will build and equip the ships in Turkey with significant contributions from local defense companies.
The ships will feature the 30mm Muhafiz remote-controlled stabilized gun system, Cenk 3D search radar, Ares electronic support system, Akrep fire control radar, a chaff decoy system, and an identification friend or foe system, among other electronic sensors. Additionally, the ships will be armed with the Atmaca anti-ship missile developed by Roketsan, and a combat management system and 76mm gun fire control system developed by Havelsan. Information on air defense missiles was not provided.
The specifications of the ships are impressive:
- Length: 99.56 meters
- Width: 14.42 meters
- Draft: 3.94 meters
- Displacement: about 2,500 tons
- Maximum speed: approximately 26 knots
- Cruising speed: 14 knots
- Range: over 4,000 nautical miles at 14 knots
- Personnel capacity: 111
- Endurance: 14 days
Malaysian Defense Minister’s visit to Turkey
Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin arrived in Turkey on a five-day working visit, his first official trip to Turkey since appointment.
The visit aimed to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries and included attending the inaugural Malaysia-Turkey High Level Committee on Defense Cooperation (HLC). This committee involves delegations from the Malaysian Defense Ministry and the Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MoND).
During his visit, Mohamed Khaled met his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, and representatives from the Secretariat of Defense Industries (SSB), an institution managing Turkey’s defense industry and military technology supply. He also visited Turkish defense companies such as Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), Aselsan, and Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), and hold discussions with DESAN Shipyard.
The visit featured the signing of a government-to-government memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the procurement of defense products, alongside agreements of collaboration and partnerships between Malaysian and Turkish defense industry players.