Steel cutting begins on Malaysian corvettes
The TCG Burgazada, an ADA-class corvette like the new Malaysian LMS Batch II vessels. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
STM has begun building three corvettes for the Royal Malaysian Navy which are expected to be completed by mid-2028 at a programme cost of US$544 million.
Steel cutting has begun on the first Turkish-built vessel in Malaysia’s LMS Batch II corvette project.
The ceremony to commemorate the beginning of the process was held at STM’s Istanbul Shipyard, and marked the beginning of the construction phase for the three corvettes of the Batch II project.
The STM corvettes also constituted a break between the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation operating out of the Wuhan shipyard. The Chinese corporation built earlier phases in Malaysia’s LMS (littoral mission ship) project around the Keris-class model.
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The shift to Turkey’s STM as primary builder means the new vessels will be built around the company’s ADA-class model, following a letter of acceptance on June 10, 2024 which confirmed Malaysia’s change of direction on the use of Chinese shipbuilders.
Özgür Güleryüz, general manager at STM, told the audience at the ceremony that it was STM’s intention to deliver the corvettes “within three and a half years”. That would see Batch II completed by mid-2028, at a programme cost of US$544 million.
The ADA-class vessels will have a length of just under 100m, and they will displace around 2,500t. With a top speed of more than 26kt, they will boast a cruising speed of 14kt, and a range of 4000nm at that cruising speed.
That combination of speed and potential endurance, matched with an up-to-date technology and sensor fit, should allow the RMN to use the vessels for a wide range of missions.
No contract has yet been signed indicating which company will be responsible for building the three vessels in the LMS Batch III project or any of the subsequent batches of LMS to meet Malaysia’s needs. In fact, that next phase is not expected to be contracted until the Batch II corvettes are in active service towards the end of the decade.
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