KUALA LUMPUR JAN.13: The Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) is one of the five classes of ships in the Armada Transformation Programme 15 to 5 to strengthen the safety control of the Malaysian waters.
Senior Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said, the presence of the four LMS in the country especially at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Base, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is very meaningful because it signifies that all the LMS have been received by RMN within the scheduled period.
Hishammuddin said, the contract to purchase four LMS had been signed between the Ministry of Defence, Malaysia (MINDEF) and Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn. Bhd. (BNSSB) on 23rd March 2017 with the cooperation of China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd (CSOC).
“This project is the first capital defence asset acquisition from China,” Hishammuddin said in a press conference on his two day working visit in Sabah today.
He said his visit is focused on the delivery of the Littoral Mission Ships (LMS), Murni Operation (Ops Murni) in Sabah and Security Agenda and Sabah Defence.
The Senior Minister added, after visiting the RMN Base at Teluk Sepanggar, Kota Kinabalu, he was briefed by the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and several agencies related to the flood situations in Sabah together with the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Mohd Noor.
“At the RMN Base in Kota Kinabalu, I saw the four LMS namely LMS1 or KD Keris handed over on 31st Dec.2019 and authorized on 6th Jan.2020; LMS 2 or KDS Sundang handed over on 14th Jan.2021 and authorized on 5th March.2021; LMS 3 or KD Badik handed over on 14th Sept. 2021 and authorized 22nd Oct.2021.
“The LMS 4 was named as Rencong and handed over physically on 18th Dec.2021 at Qidong, China and arrived at RMN Base in Kota Kinabalu on 28th Dec.2021. Rencong will go through another historical moment when it will be authorized on 28th Jan.2022 and after which it will be known as KD Rencong and will join the 11th LMS Squadron in RMD Base Kota Kinabalu,” Hishammuddin said.
Hishammuddin added, the prime mission of the squadron ship is to counter asymmetric threats, monitoring operational areas, patrolling in the Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE), supporting roles to the Military Operation Other Than War (MOOTW) and as a supporting platform to the roles during peace, conflicts or war. –Malaysia World News
