It said new defence programmes and certain capabilities to help close gaps had been shelved due to budgetary constraints.
One of the ways the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) was trying to “do more with less,” the report quoted an unnamed Malaysian defence official as saying, was through the 15-to-5 Armada Transformation Programme.
The 15-to-5 programme would see a reduction of the country’s current 15 classes of vessels, which average 30 years in age and are sourced from seven different countries, to just five categories, according to the report.
These are: Littoral Mission Ships; Multi-Support Ships; Littoral Combat Ships (LCS); New Generation Patrol Vessels; and submarines.
In fact, earlier this week, Deputy Defence Minister Johari Baharum said as part of the modernisation and restructuring of RMN’s assets, it was reducing the current 15 classes of ships to five. This is to cut down on operational costs and reduce dependency on foreign countries.
Johari said this when laying the keel for the second LCS to be built by France’s Boustead Naval Shipyard.
The keel for the first LCS was laid down in March 2016. The Sun Daily quoted Johari as saying the first LCS was expected to be operational in April 2019, and that it was 50% complete.
Malaysia has ordered six new vessels under a RM9 billion contract awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard in July 2014. They are to be handed to the RMN by 2023.
The LCS will be the most sophisticated and capable warships in the RMN inventory.
They have capabilities to counter electronic, air, surface and underwater threats.
In December, RMN chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad was quoted by The Sun Daily as saying the RMN was is in the process of restructuring its fleet by building another one based in Sepanggar, Sabah.
“It will enable the RMN to have two fleets – the east fleet and the west fleet. At present, the RMN only has one fleet based in Lumut, Perak.
“The new one based in Sepanggar will be responsible for the maritime security of Sabah and Sarawak … it will be implemented next year … and we will have two fleets,” he was quoted as saying.
He also revealed that the RMN planned to set up the Region 4 Naval Base in Bintulu next year, and that it had already identified a suitable location for it.