Malaysia chooses NSM missile for littoral warship

LANGKAWI: Malaysia has chosen the fifth-generation Naval Strike Missile (NSM) surface-to-surface missile to equip its six Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), currently in an early stage of construction.

Confirming this, an industry source said the government chose the NSM produced by Norwegian company, Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA), over French-made Exocet Block 3 anti-ship missile.

"Yes, Malaysia has decided to equip its six Gowind-designed Littoral Combat Ship with the only fifth generation surface-to-surface missile in the market, the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015 (LIMA'15) here yesterday.

The Exocet Block 3 produced by MBDA was expected to secure order from the government to equip the LCS as the anti-ship missile was extensively used by the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) other warships.

The source also said, with the decision regarding the type of LCS's anti-ship missile over, the contractor tasked to build the warship, Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad (BHIC) could proceed to complete the ship's 3D design.

"They (BHIC) can now proceed to complete the virtual design of the ship and achieved other internal milestone in the contruction of the warship, en route to delivering the first LCS to the RMN in early 2019," he said.

Apart from the Kongsberg's NSM missile, the LCS will also be fitted to carry Vertical-Launch (VL) Mica air defence system as its main protector from air threat, complemented by a 57mm MK2 stealth-cupola, as well as a 30mm cannon.

According to the source, although the LCS will be equipped with a medium lift helicopter hangar, RMN's Super Lynx helicopter will be the one operating from the LCS until the navy decides to procure a medium size helicopter for the LCS, he noted.

Malaysia bought six LCS with a total cost of RM9 billion, with the design of the 3,000 tonnes warship derived from France's DCNS Gowind-class corvette.

When completed, the LCS will be amongst the most modern warship in the region.