Turkish defence firm STM has launched two new corvettes for the Royal Malaysian Navy in as many weeks at a shipyard in Istanbul.
A ceremony marking the first time the future KD Raja Laut hit the water was held on Monday; the ship is the second of three Littoral Mission Ship Batch-2 (LMS Batch II) corvettes destined for the Pacific nation.
The first, the future KD Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil, was launched at the same shipyard on May 24; the third as-yet-unnamed vessel is set to hit the waves in August. All three ships are set to be commissioned in 2027.
Based on the Ada-class ships in service with the Turkish Navy, the 100-metre, 2,400-tonne warships are capable of more than 26 knots and have a range of about 3,500 nautical miles.
They carry four surface-to-air missiles and eight Roketsan Atmaca anti-ship missiles. Their flight deck and hangar can accommodate a medium-sized helicopter and an uncrewed aerial system.
At the launch ceremony for Raja Laut STM’s General Manager Özgür Güleryüz commented: “In this landmark project, which represents the first Government-to-Government (G2G) defence procurement agreement between Türkiye and Malaysia and Türkiye’s first corvette export to the Asia-Pacific region, we launched the first vessel… just two weeks ago.
“Today, the launch of Raja Laut, the second vessel of the project, is a tangible demonstration of STM’s engineering capability and execution speed.”
As per STM the warships are capable of a wide range of missions including surface and electronic warfare, air defence and asymmetric warfare.
It noted: “The construction and outfitting of the ships will be carried out in Türkiye with the intensive involvement of Turkish defence industry companies.”
Havelsan will supply the combat management system and the fire control system; the 3D search radar, fire control radar, IFF, 30mm gun, electronic support measures and chaff decoy system will come from Aselsan.
- You can read more details on the STM website