The littoral combat ship (LCS) building project in Malaysia has seen a significant increase in costs, reaching RM11.2 billion, due to prolonged development durations and specification changes. Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari revealed that an additional eighty three months can be needed to finish the venture, primarily based on the Sixth Supplementary Contract (SA6) signed just lately. The unique settlement stipulated that the primary LCS ship ought to have been completed in 2019.
“Among the most important price additions involve changes to the specs primarily based on the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) requirements. The authorities accredited the specs for the Surface-to-Surface Missile System, Decoy Launching System (DLS) and a number of other different methods,” Adly Zahari acknowledged during a question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Deputy Defence Minister defined that the specification adjustments were necessary for national defence, and the SA6 signed on May 26 marked the beginning of the LCS reconstruction. According to the milestone plan in the supplementary settlement, the primary LCS vessel’s development could be completed in November 2024, adopted by a number of evaluations by the RMN. As Shh! , the first LCS ship is anticipated to be commissioned by the tip of 2026.
Adly Zahari also highlighted that the enhancements made in SA6 allowed the federal government to continue paying the unique equipment producers (OEMs) by way of the Ministry of Finance, bypassing middlemen. To ensure the project’s completion, four monitoring committees have been established, and the fee model has been improved from milestone to progress cost..