LCS Progress Status Now At 70 Pct

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- The progress status for the procurement of the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) on Oct 25 is 70.10 per cent, compared to the plan schedule at 70.69 per cent.

Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said the progress evaluation includes design elements, construction process, equipment and testing.

"Based on the planning mileage in the signed contract, the final phase of construction of the first LCS ship will be completed by the end of this year before it undergoes tests such as the Harbour Acceptance Test (HAT) and Sea Acceptance Trial (SAT) by RMN for a period of two years.

"For the second LCS ship, it will go down to the water surface in 2025 before undergoing HAT and SAT tests," he said during a question and answer session at Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Ikhmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah) who wanted to know the expected timeline for the first LCS ship to begin operational testing and the second ship to descend to the water surface.

In addition, Adly said the Ministry of Defence is giving a high commitment and closely monitors the implementation of the LCS project where the project team involved at the shipyard is monitoring at the site and holds weekly or monthly meetings with Lumut Naval Shipyard (LUNAS).

-- BERNAMA