Türkiye’s STM to build 3 warships for Malaysian Navy

Türkiye’s engineering prowess in naval technologies, STM Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc., has added another international success to its record. The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has selected STM to supply three warships under the LMS Batch-2 program.

The “Littoral Mission Ship Batch-2” project ceremony was held today (June 10) at the Presidency of Defense Industries of the Republic of Türkiye. Attendees included Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, President of Defense Industries Professor Dr. Haluk Gorgun, STM Chairman of the Board Professor Dr. Ihsan Kaya, STM General Manager Ozgur Guleryuz, representatives from the Malaysian Ministry of Defense and executives from Turkish defense industry companies.

Gorgun: LMS Batch-2 is Just the Beginning

In his speech at the ceremony, President of Defense Industries Professor Dr. Haluk Gorgun said: “We held the ‘Government-to-Government (G2G) Memorandum’ of Understanding Signing Ceremony for Defense Product Procurement and the Acceptance Letter (LoA) Delivery Ceremony for the ‘Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch 2 Project’ for the Royal Malaysian Navy between Türkiye and Malaysia. This is Malaysia’s first time signed a G2G Memorandum of Understanding for defense product procurement with a country.”

Gorgun said that the three ships, designed to meet the needs of the Royal Malaysian Navy with STM as the main contractor, will be built in Türkiye.

“During the customization of the ships, products from several Turkish defense industry companies, including HAVELSAN, ASELSAN, and ROKETSAN, will be used. I truly believe that the LMS Batch-2 Project is just the beginning of long-term cooperation between the two countries on naval platforms,” he added.

Mohamed Khaled Nordin: Congratulations to STM

Meanwhile, Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin stated in his speech that he believes that the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding will benefit both countries, especially Malaysia, as “Türkiye is a sophisticated military power with excellent defense technologies and one of the most advanced military manufacturing countries in Western Asia.”

“Today, we are witnessing the Acceptance Letter delivery ceremony for LMS Batch 2 with STM. When we signed the Memorandum of Understanding, we issued the LoA for the LMS purchase. This is a historic moment because today in Türkiye, we will begin the construction of three LMS by STM. Congratulations to STM,” Nordin said during his speech.

‘Transferring experience, technology to friendly countries’

In his opening speech, STM General Manager Ozgur Guleryuz stated STM has been meeting the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces and security forces with national and innovative systems for over 30 years, adding: “On the path we set out for the defense of our country, today we are transferring our engineering experience and technologies to friendly and brotherly countries. Following the surface platforms and submarine modernizations we built for the Pakistan Navy, we will continue to build two corvettes for Ukraine under STM’s main contracting.”

Construction to begin in 2024, complete in 3.5 years

Expressing their pride in signing an agreement that will strengthen the Malaysian Navy, Guleryuz continued: “Under the leadership of our Presidency and Defense Industries Presidency, we will build three ships based on the internationally proven Ada Class for the friendly and brotherly Royal Malaysian Navy.”

“Construction of the ships will begin this year, and we will deliver all three ships to the Malaysian Navy within 3.5 years. With the G2G agreement, STM will be responsible for all project phases, from design to performance, construction to delivery,” Guleryuz added.

Corvettes to feature modern weapon systems

Under the project, the construction and outfitting of the ships will be carried out in Türkiye with significant participation from Turkish defense industry companies. The ships built under STM’s main contracting will be equipped with leading systems from approximately 50 local companies, including Aselsan, Havelsan and Roketsan.

The Malaysian Corvettes will feature modern weapon systems, sensors, and command-and-control systems and serve the Malaysian Navy in various missions.

STM LMS Batch-II ship specifications

The three corvettes, designed and customized by STM to meet the needs of the Royal Malaysian Navy, will be built in Türkiye under the Littoral Mission Ship Batch-2 (LMSB2) Project. STM will be the main contractor responsible for all project phases, from design to performance and construction to delivery.

STM will handle ship design, project management, construction management, material/system procurement, integration design and assembly, testing and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) activities, and project-related design and ILS documentation preparation.

The ships, constructed and outfitted in Türkiye with significant participation from Turkish defense industry companies, will feature Aselsan-developed systems, including the 30mm MUHAFIZ (Smash) Remote-Controlled Stabilized Gun System, CENK 3D Search Radar, ARES 2D Surface Radar EW system, Scorpion Fire Control Radar, Chaff Decoy System, Friend-Foe Identification System (IFF), and other electronic sensors; ROKETSAN-developed ATMACA Anti-Ship Missile; HAVELSAN-developed Combat Management System (CMS) and 76mm gun fire control system.

The ships will be 99.56 meters long, have a displacement of 2500 tons, a maximum speed of 26 knots, a helicopter landing platform and a crew capacity of 111.

The Presidency of Defense Industries announced the agreement on their official X account.

Türkiye ve Malezya arasında “Savunma Ürünleri Tedarikine İlişkin G2G Mutabakat Muhtırası İmza Töreni” ve Malezya Kraliyet Donanması için tedarik edilecek “Kıyı Görev Gemisi (LMS) Batch 2 Projesi Kabul Mektubu (LoA) Teslim Töreni” Başkanlığımızda gerçekleşti.

Böylelikle… pic.twitter.com/hrteIKqr5p

— SSB (@SavunmaSanayii) June 10, 2024

President of Defense Industries Haluk Gorgun expressed their happiness about the agreement in his post on his official X account.

We have held the "Signing Ceremony for the MoU on G2G Procurement for Defence Products between Türkiye and Malaysia" and the "Handing Over Ceremony for the LoA (Letter of Acceptance) of the Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch 2 Project” which will be procured for the Royal…

— Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün (@halukgorgun) June 10, 2024

He stated they held the “Government-to-Government (G2G) Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony for Defense Product Procurement” and the “Acceptance Letter (LoA) Delivery Ceremony for the Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch 2 Project” for the Royal Malaysian Navy between Türkiye and Malaysia.

Gorgun emphasized Malaysia signed a G2G Memorandum of Understanding for procuring defense products with a country for the first time and expressed their satisfaction in being part of this significant agreement.