Keel Laying Ceremony Held for the Malaysia Corvette Project
STM, Türkiye’s leading naval engineering company, held the keel laying ceremony, for three corvettes to be design and built for the Royal Malaysian Navy.
STM Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş., a pioneer in the Turkish defence industry, continues to be a reliable partner for navies around the world. As part of the “Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch-2” program, STM has commenced work on the construction of three corvettes for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The keel laying ceremony for the project, carried out under STM’s main contractor role, was held at the Istanbul Shipyard.
The ceremony was attended by Datuk Lokman Hakim bin Ali, Secretary General of Ministry of Defence of Malaysia, Admiral (ADM) Datuk Zulhelmy bin Ithnain, Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy; and Bülent Soydal, Deputy General Manager of STM.
Türkiye’s First Corvette Export to the Asia-Pacific
Speaking at the ceremony, Soydal emphasized that STM is Türkiye’s leading engineering company in the field of naval platforms, and said:
“We are pleased to strengthen our defence cooperation with friendly and brotherly nations. Today’s keel laying ceremony for the three corvettes we have started constructing under the LMS Batch-II Project for the Royal Malaysian Navy is a concrete reflection of the strong friendship and cooperation between Türkiye and Malaysia. These corvettes, which mark Türkiye’s first export of corvettes to the Asia-Pacific region, will enable the Royal Malaysian Navy to perform a wide range of maritime defence missions effectively. Based on the ADA-Class design, a platform that has proven its effectiveness in international waters, all three corvettes will be delivered by the end of 2027.”
STM LMS Batch-II Ship Specifications
The Signing Ceremony for the G2G Memorandum of Understanding on the Procurement of Defense Products between Türkiye and Malaysia, along with the Handover Ceremony for the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) for the LMS Batch-2 Project for the Royal Malaysian Navy, was held in Ankara on June 10, 2024. These corvettes’ steel cutting ceremony was held in Istanbul on December 4, 2024.
STM, as main contractor, will be responsible for all phases of the project, starting from design to the performance, and from construction to delivery.
STM will undertake the ship design, project management (including construction management), material/system procurements, integration design and assembly, testing and Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) activities, as well as the preparation of the design and ILS documents related to the Project.
The three corvettes, the design of which has been tailored by STM to meet the requirements of the Royal Malaysian Navy, will be constructed in Türkiye within the scope of the Littoral Mission Ship Batch-2 (LMSB2) Project.
STM Littoral Mission Ship (LMSB2) is a highly flexible and proven platform that complies with modern naval norms, standards and classification society rules. The capabilities of similar combat platforms produced by STM in terms of safety, performance, reliability and ease of maintenance have been tested, and have proven themselves during operations in the open and coastal seas, and under heavy sea conditions.
LMSs can be tasked with a wide range of duties including ASUW, AAW, Asymmetric Warfare (ASYW) and EW, drawing upon the capabilities of the most advanced Sensors & Weapons Suite and Command & Control System.
The construction and outfitting of the ships will be carried out in Türkiye with the intensive involvement of Turkish defence industry companies. STM, in its role as main contractor, will turn to the Turkish defence sector for equipment such as the Combat Management System; the Gun Fire Control System, to be supplied by HAVELSAN; and the 3D Search Radar, Fire Control Radar, IFF, 30mm Gun, ESM and Chaff Decoy System, as well as other electronic sensors, to be supplied by ASELSAN. ROKETSAN will be supplying its ATMACA Surface-to-Surface G/M System.
