The Royal Malaysian Navy announced that it is launching the country’s first littoral combat ship (LCS) in a ceremony on August 24 in Lumut.
The vessel will bear pennant number 2501 and will reportedly be named KD Maharaja Lela.
Also referred to as Second Generation Patrol Vessels, the six ships in the class are being built by Malaysian shipbuilder Boustead Holdings Berhad under a contract with the Malaysian defense ministry from July 2014.
The six frigates that are planned to be built have been designed by French DCNS (now Naval Group) as a modified, enlarged version of the company’s Gowind corvette design.
At 111 meters in length, the frigates displace a little over 3,000 tonnes and have a complement of 18 officers and 100 sailors.
Construction of the first ship, LCS 1, started in March 2016. The ship was built under a modular concept in which several previously fabricated sections of the ship were joined together to form a complete ship hull.
Once LCS 1 is ceremonially launched on August 24, she will start her outfitting process during which she will receive her sensors and armament.
As the Royal Malaysian Navy’s prime surface combatants, the six ships in the class are set to carry the Kongsberg-built Naval Strike Missile, MBDA’s VL MICA missiles, a Bofors 57mm Mk3 gun in a stealth casing and an automated MSI Seahawk 30mm gun. For anti-submarine warfare, the ships will be fitted with J+S torpedo launcher systems, now delivered by UK-based company Sea.