SHAH ALAM: Not an LMS Batch 2 candidate. An Algerian Navy El Moutassadi – pennant number 940 – corvette came alongside the National Hydrographic Centre at Port Klang on March 3. The ship likely stopped here for refuel and rest break following its delivery from China. Algerian Navy previous visit to Malaysia.
Yes, El Moutassadi is a China-made Type 056 corvette which easily fits into the LMS Batch 2 requirements. Though as Malaysian Defence has posted before, RMN did not want its latest vessel to come from that country.
It is unclear what Type 056 variant is the Algerian corvette, but it is said to be an improved variant of the C13B corvette of the Bangladesh Navy and the Nigerian Navy’s P18N OPV. The Bangladeshi ships (four) is ninety metres long and has displacement of 1,330 tonnes while the Nigerian ones (two) are longer at 96 metres and a displacement of 1800 tonnes.
From the pictures posted by the centre, the Algerian corvette looks like Bangladeshi ones and the same type of weapons. It has a 76mm main gun, four surface to surface missile launchers, two ASW rockets launchers and a single FL-3000 SAM launcher. The FL-3000 is the China version of the US/German RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher.
It must be noted that it is likely that Algerian corvette like its Bangladeshi and Nigerian counterparts , was built at the Wuchang shipyard in Wuhan. Just like our own LMS. The Type 056 and Type C28A corvettes were among the China ships offered to Malaysia around 2015 and 2018 before the government decided on the LMS Batch 1 design.
China has built 72 of the Type 056 corvettes of which twenty-two has been handed down to its coast guard. It has also been reported that the corvette was developed from the Pattani-class corvette built by the Wuhan shipyard for the Royal Thai Navy in 2002.
Wikipedia page on the Type 056 corvette claimed the Argentinian version of the ship cost US$50 million each or RM223 million (at the current exchange rate). If we get the corvette as the supposed-budget of LMS Batch 2 (RM2.4 billion) we can get ten of them with extra spare change. That said with our perennial problems of leakages, a Type 056 corvette may well cost us RM450 million per ship. The Keris class ship costs us some RM1.048 billion or RM350 million each
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (21)
How this corvette will fair on Philippine Corvette HDC-3100 of HHI.
Honestly what is the hold up with the winner of the LMS 2.0? After all the funds have already been approved right? And aren't we doing it G2G this time around which means no more time consuming tenders?(correct me if I'm wrong) Surely by now RMN and Govt have chosen which country to build the ships, so why haven't we heard of anything yet? Are they waiting until LIMA 23 or are negotiations still ongoing and we might see who the winner is soon?
It is likely the negotiations before were just on the technical stuff as no money had been allocated. Only when the money has been allocated can the negotiations go further, and that was some ten days ago. The budget itself had not been passed yet. I doubt it will be announced at LIMA 2023. But who knows, it might be the surprise package
It's already in the water, the HHI one is still basically a paper ship
Jason - ''After all the funds have already been approved right?''
''Funds approved'' and ''funds allocated'' are profoundly different.
Jason - '' Surely by now RMN and Govt have chosen''
The RMN may have ''chosen'' but have other entities/departments/ministries done the same?
Jun - ''How this corvette will fair on Philippine Corvette HDC-3100 of HHI.''
Making direct comparison between 'X' and 'Y' are really pointless. How anything will fare against something else depends on various factors. Is the crew ell trained; who detects who first; is one platform operating on its own against another operating in conjunction with others and fully networked; etc.
Question:
The Kedah class are corvette size. Why not use some of the money to upgrade and arm them as the LMS. Then, the gun only Keris class can be NPV as per the 15 to 5. Does that make sense?
Yes there has been plans for that but it appears to have been sidelined
Tom Tom,
- Arming the Kedahs does not do away with the fact that extra hulls are needed.
- The Kedahs from Day One only have enough deck space for 4 SSMs amidships and a non deck penetrating launcher in the B position.
- There is also the practical question of whether spending that amount of cash on a class of a certain age is a cost effective solution or presents a sound ROI.
- Fully arming the Kedahs with anything other than MM-40s and RAM entails the need for integration and certification.
Tom tom "The Kedah class are corvette size. Why not use some of the money to upgrade and arm them as the LMS."
Not exactly plug & play I guess. One Would still need to pay for the Intergration cost. That why I think meko A100 is a great choice as the Intergration cost for newer missiles on the meko can be roles on to existing Kedah.
If other ship are choosen then by 2035 the Kedah would either need to be retired or rehulled but continue floating as an overpriced OPV.
Zaft - "Not exactly plug & play I guess"
If it's MM-40 and RAM it is "plug and play" as the ship from Day One was intended to be fitted with both.
Zaft - "Intergration cost for newer missiles on the meko"
To COSYS and the new directors.