Maharaja Lela-class LCS (LUNAS video screengrab)
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) is expecting the arrival of its first Maharaja Lela-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in August 2026. This milestone follows the ship’s recent launch into the water on May 23rd, nearly seven years after its initial dry launch in 2017.
Construction work on the remaining four ships of the same class has also resumed, with a planned delivery schedule spaced eight months apart. The second Maharaja Lela-class LCS is expected to be handed over to the service in 2027, and all five ships are slated for completion by 2029.
Originally, a 2011 contract for six LCSs valued at MYR 9 billion (approximately USD 2.8 billion) was awarded to Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC) and its subsidiary Boustead Naval Shipbuilding (BNS). However, financial challenges and mismanagement led to program delays. Consequently, a revised contract reduced the ship count to five and resulted in the nationalisation of BNS, now known as Lumut Naval Shipyard (LUNAS).
As part of the ship’s delivery process, the first Maharaja Lela-class corvette will undergo harbour acceptance testing in November of this year, followed by sea trials in October 2025.
The 3,100-ton displacement Maharaja Lela-class LCS, based on the French Naval Group’s Gowind-class corvette, boasts a length of 111 metres, a beam of 16 metres, and a draft of 3.85 metres. Its propulsion system includes four 7,400 kW diesel engines, enabling a top speed of 28 knots and a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 kilometres) at a cruising speed of 15 knots.
Each ship will be armed with a 57 mm main gun, two 30 mm cannons, a 16-cell vertically launched anti-aircraft missile system, eight anti-ship missiles, and two triple-tube anti-submarine torpedo launchers.
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