Malaysia’s troubled Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme is facing further delays, with the country’s Auditor-General reporting that the five-ship programme was 7.55% behind schedule as of June 2025.
The programme was 78.99% complete overall, with delays across individual activities ranging from 30 to 108 days, according to the Auditor-General’s report.
The physical handover of the first vessel, Maharaja Lela, has also been pushed back from August 2026 to April 2027. The ship could potentially be delivered without its full weapons fit and associated training completed, following Norway’s decision to cancel export of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to Malaysia.
The Auditor-General also highlighted how contracts for several key systems and support requirements are yet to be finalised. These include integrated logistics support and trial aids, the anti-ship missile system, 3P ammunition for the medium-calibre gun and the integrated decoy launching system.
The report warned that delays to Maharaja Lela could have a knock-on effect on the remaining four vessels, potentially pushing the programme’s achievement of full operational capability right back to 2035.
This would mean a whopping 24-year period between the signing of the original contract in 2011 and the planned achievement of full operational capability.
“Apart from the loss of billions of ringgit, a 24-year delay in the delivery of the LCS by 2035 for an order placed in 2011 would inevitably raise questions over whether the technology used in the ships would have become obsolete and outdated,” opposition lawmaker Lim Guan Eng said in a statement.
While the Royal Malaysian Navy awaits the new warships, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has launched its largest vessel to date at Desan Shipyard in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The 3,300-tonne Multi-Purpose Mission Ship 1 (MPMS 1) measures 99m long and is designed to conduct extended maritime surveillance, search-and-rescue and humanitarian missions.
The vessel is intended to support monthlong deployments and it will provide the MMEA with additional capacity for maritime security and enforcement operations across Malaysia’s extensive maritime domain.
MPMS 1 is scheduled to sail to Malaysia in January 2027. Construction of the second vessel is currently approximately 34% complete.
by Chen Chuanren, Singapore
