Malaysia contracts Boustead for Lekiu-class frigate communications upgrade

BHIC Defence Techservices Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad, announced it has finalized a contract with the Malaysian defense ministry for the upgrade of Lekiu-class frigate communication suites.

The RM19,500,000 (approx. US$5 million) contract was signed on February 22, 2018, but the company announced it on April 13.

The contract announcement follows a letter of acceptance from October, 2017, when the company informed it was selected to deliver the communication suites for frigates from the 23 Frigate Squadron of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The squadron is composed of KD Jebat F29 and KD Lekiu F3 which were built in the UK by Yarrow Shipbuilders (now BAE Systems) and commissioned in Malaysia in 1999.

The two 2,270 ton frigates underwent a mid-life modernization and service life extension in 2015 and 2016 receiving Terma’s SCANTER 6000 radar and the Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine Vision Master automatic radar plotting aid (ARPA) display system.