THE Royal Malaysian Navy will require at least two years to procure a new anti-ship missile system for its Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) after the cancellation of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) acquisition from Norway, the country's top military commander said.
Chief of Defence Forces General Tan Sri Malek Razak Sulaiman said the replacement programme would effectively begin from scratch, requiring the government to reopen the tender process before selecting a new supplier.
He said four potential suppliers had already been shortlisted, representing France, Türkiye, Italy and South Korea, but the procurement had yet to enter the formal tender stage.
According to Malek, the shortlisted systems will undergo detailed technical and operational evaluations by the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Ministry of Defence before any final decision is made.
"The procurement will take at least two years because this is effectively a new project. We need to review everything again, including the budget and other related matters, so it is essentially a fresh procurement process for us to acquire the anti-ship missile system."
"The decision on the supplier has not been finalised because we have not yet opened the tender. Those are simply the potential suppliers."
BH cited him stressing that the government was seeking to ensure the delay would not affect the operational readiness of the Royal Malaysian Navy's Littoral Combat Ship programme.
"We do not want our operational readiness to be disrupted because the ships will soon be commissioned and enter operational service. Therefore, we must simplify the process and resolve this issue."
Malek was speaking at a press conference following the official launch of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2027 (LIMA'27).
The new procurement exercise follows the cancellation of the original Naval Strike Missile programme, requiring Malaysia to identify an alternative anti-ship missile capability to equip its new fleet of Littoral Combat Ships while maintaining the Navy's planned operational timeline. - July 7, 2026
