Kuala Lumpur: Pak Lah in his speech (read by his deputy) at the launch of the fourth PV announced that the government will fund the construction of the second batch of the Kedah class. He did hedge his bet on the project however by stating the project will only start in 2010 when all six Kedah class boats are delivered.
The navy brass had always wanted the second batch to be built as a follow-up order but things had been dicey when the first batch ships were repeatedly delayed mostly due to the troubles of the original contractor, PSC Naval Dockyard. As Malaysian Defence had written extensively on this issue, there is no need to repeat them here.
One thing remained constant though, although the two boats had been commissioned, the fate of the four Kedah class built from the ground up locally remained a mystery. Although, the first built boat, Perak was launched in 2006 last year, there is no word of its commissioning. Meanwhile the RMN website had given the KD prefix to Terengganu (the second locally built PV) but there is no word officially whether or not this is correct.
The third-local built PV (fifth in its class) , Kelantan, was launched in Lumut on Monday. Whether or not the second batch are built, Malaysian Defence feels that it is much better for MINDEF to fund the full armament suite of the in-service ships first. We all know the teething problems with Kedah and Pahang, but as long as the full combat suite are not fitted we will never be sure that they have been fixed or not despite claims of the contrary by the navy. The navy brass also has the view that funding the second batch was more important than fitting the full combat suite for the first batch.
Malaysian Defence would like to suggest that we commissioned Terengganu, Perak. Kelantan and Selangor (?) first and at the same time, fitted the two lead ships with their missiles first as we wait for the construction of the second batch. During these lean times, we may get a cheaper price for the missiles (RAM and Exocets) and ensure that the patrol boats are fully capable meeting future needs. And at the meantime, the navy and the builder, Boustead, make plans for a trouble free construction of the second batch.
From Bernama.
Govt To Go Ahead And Build Second Batch Of Patrol Boats
LUMUT, Nov 24 (Bernama) — The government is to go ahead with the construction of the second batch of the new generation patrol boats for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) once the first batch of six boats has been delivered to the RMN by early 2010, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Abdullah, who is also the defence minister, said the role of the RMN and other maritime agencies was becoming more challenging following increased threats to safety of navigation in the world’s sea lanes.
He said the recent hijacking of MISC vessels by pirates in Somalia waters was an indication of how important it was for the RMN to empower itself in terms of assault vessels to face such threats.
Bernama
— Malaysian Defence
I have mixed feelings on this news*. The execution of the first batch was scandalous. I hope this time we don’t repeat the same mistakes.
* Assuming this news is correct and there is no U-turn.
Marhalim: Its two years down the road, if there is no money, they can always say its deferred…
It appears that the ceremony for the Kelantan included its commissioning as a Kapal DiRaja. It did not say so in the MINDEF news section but it appears as such in the RMN website. And it also appears that Perak and Terengganu PVs have also been commssioned as Kapal DiRaja…
From RMN website:
“DYMM Tuanku Ismail Petra Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra Al-Sultan Kelantan telah berkenan menitahkan Upacara Penamaan dan Pelancaran Kapal Ronda PV5 TLDM pada 24 November 2008 di Boustead Naval Shipyard, Lumut Perak. Upacara ini telah disempurnakan oleh Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tengku Anis binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Hamid, Raja Perempuan Kelantan.
Upacara ini juga turut dihadiri oleh Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Mohd Faris Petra Ibni Sultan Ismail Petra, Tengku Mahkota Kelantan; Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Raja Dihilir Perak, Raja Jaafar bin Raja Muda Musa dan Duli Yang Amat Mulia Raja Puan Muda Perak Raja Nor Mahani binti Raja Shahrar Shah; Timbalan Menteri Pertahanan dan Isteri; Panglima Angkatan Tentera Malaysia dan Isteri; Panglima Tentera Laut dan Isteri; Panglima-Panglima Perkhidmatan dan Pegawai-pegawai Kanan Tentera dan Awam. Kapal Ronda PV5 TLDM ini telah ditauliahkan sebagai Kapal Diraja (KD) KELANTAN dengan No. Penant 175, dalam kelas Patrol Vessel (PV).
The funny thing about KD Kelantan is that it appears that it does not from pictures, appeared ready for service yet although it is already commissioned. It is what the US Navy like term as Pre Commissioning Unit, meaning that the navy takes over the commissioning of the ship instead of getting the shipbuilder to conduct the same task. It also means that the Boustead wont have to spent some RM1 million plus to perform the task.
I believe all 4 locally built PVs have not been commissioned yet. The 3rd was a launching and naming ceremony, the 4th and 5th were only naming ceremonies. If anyone noticed, the TRS-3D radar on PV3 was rotating during the KELANTAN naming ceremony. Indicates that the combat system should be under testing. Maybe doing Set To Work? System Integration Test? Could be…
BTW, RM1 million to do the commissioning?!?!? You must be dreaming! Just the towed air target alone costs nearly RM100,000. And I believe KD KEDAH and KD PAHANG actually shot down 3. Not to mention the use of FA-18 Hornets, MIG-29, F5E and the Hawk during the sea trials. And the cost of the surface target barges? OEM fees (should be running into millions here, easy!), diesel and lube oil costs, merchant ship crew costs (necessary as the ships have yet to be commissioned), ammunition costs, etc. etc. etc. We are talking about many, many millions here!
Doing sea trials of naval ships is expensive business and very high up the technology ladder.