SHAH ALAM: After crunching the numbers and a few words with those in the know, I must concede the billion ringgit price tag for the proposed SGPV/LCS is probably justified, with a few caveats of course.
1) One wonders why the ceiling price for the project was announced when the navy has yet to sign off the final design? Pray tell what will happen if by chance that the final design cost more than the ceiling price? Will the Government upped the ceiling price or will the navy have to grit its teeth and get a lesser design?
2) The final design will be selected from six international companies, of which three I am told have been down selected to become the technology partner for Boustead Naval Shipyard, the forerunner of PSC Naval Dockyard. As Boustead had already submitted its SGPV/LCS design, we are now left wondering whether the navy will choose this design for the project or not?
3) What will happen if the RMN choose the other two contenders? Will Boustead be force to follow their design or these companies, reputable shipbuilders themselves will have to validate the Malaysian design? With Boustead holding the IP rights for the Meko A100 design, wouldnt it be odd that it has to build a new ship to a different hull?
4) With the hull being the most expensive part of any ship, any changes to the status quo will have a profound impact on the project”s cost. The Danes got their Absalon class ships for some US300 million as they fixed the hull price to US100 million. Are we fixing the hull price to save cost?
Despite my grudging admission over the cost of the project, I am still of the opinion that the RMN and the Armed Forces as a whole cannot afford the project. Yes, I understand the navy need new ships and wars happen due to illogical reasons and therefore we need to be prepare for it but the fact remains our Armed Forces are under funded.
With an annual operating budget of an average RM10 billion and an annual procurement expenditure of around RM3 billion, how can we be spending RM1 billion a year, get this: a single ship and all the risks it carries. For example in 2008 and 2009, the Navy only got around RM1.5 billion as the development expenditure. I dont have the figures for 2010 but I am assuming that its more less the same.
But it seemed that the state of events had been put in motion two decades ago: the privatisation of the dockyard to PSC and Amin Shah. To ensure the success of the exercise, the NGPV project was approved with the Meko A100 as the winning design. Yes, by having a sole source contract to maintain navy ships for perpetuity would have been profitable of course but ship-building seems more messianic and empire building.
The subsequent failure of Amin Shah and PSC saw the rise of Boustead and doomed the project to a government bail-out ensuring the ships were completed well behind schedule and way over-budget.
The original cost of the NGPV was around RM600 million (Amin Shah was also PAID around RM600 million as a reward for taking an unprofitable venture and turning it into a world class facility) but the time the six was completed, these ships cost more or less around RM1 billion. And here we go planning a ship with a ceiling budget of RM1 billion.
I have argued before that the navy needs only a lot of 60 or 70 metres missile armed FACs, or also known in some navies as corvettes – like this one from South Korea – as they are cheaper to procure and maintain. These ships invariably have the same weapons suites as the SGPV/LCS and therefore well suited for the same roles.
Other examples for FAC/corvette is the Danish Flyvefisken class which was offered to RMN in the original NGPV project
But having FACs/corvettes goes against the navy’s aspiration of becoming a Blue Water Navy, a lofty ambition raised following the privatisation of the dockyarrd and accelerated with the setting up of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency or MMEA.
A Blue Water Navy armed primarily with a few Littoral Combat Ships! What an irony!
–Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (32)
Marhalim, not my intention to be argumentative or picky but IMO we can't in all honesty describe the RMN as a 'blue water' navy even if it some time in the future operates dozens of frigates and destroyers or even carriers. There is a common misconception that a navy achieves 'blue water' status when it operates vessels above FAC, corvette or light frigate size, enabling them to operate further from the shore and in rougher sea states. The most accurate definition of a 'blue water' navy is a navy that can operate from great distances away from it's homeports, for extended periods even without access to foreign ports or bases, due to having a large fleet train - replenishment ships, oilers, etc.
When asked a few years ago what his vision for a future RMN would be, a former RMN Chief said it would be for the RMN to be a balanced, 3 dimensional littoral navy, with a niche in littoral operations including anti-mine operations.
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With planned 27 PV fleet and the other frigates, RMN will be able to justify to procure oilers for RAS operations. I wouldnt be surprised if the planned MRSS will also be equipped for RAS just like the Berlin class ships of the German Navy.
first of all, the biggest mistake the RMN made is not to define what they are buying in the 1st place. Tonnage, weaponry, sensors, principle operation profile non were announced. When they can\'t even get simple things like PR right, how can the people trust them to handle multimillion Ringgit project?
It is common to not reveal all the details due to ongoing discussions with various companies.
With regards to tonnage, it has always been taken for granted that the LCS/SGPV/OPV will be slightly larger than the Kedah class. But yes I think most of us here are in agreement that MINDEF should get it's house in order with regards to providing information to the public.
in the interim, while awaiting the ships to be build with whatever final outcome, they should at least order more MM40 exocet to armed the 6 kedah Class.
We already lost the kasturi's for upgrades while the 8 fac missile are already 40 years old almost, dont think can do more open sea operation. It would be almost suicidal to send the kedah class opv to open sea with just guns while your opposite is carrying missiles.
Though the SEARAM would be good to have but i doubt it will ever be ordered, so interim solutions is to borrow some ANZA manpad from Gapu and armed the kedah class.
For ASW, the kedah class can use the lynx heli for that as i believed it has a hangar.
Just my take on the issue
The most simple explanation for this darn problem is that some people in this country love to politicize everything including the police forces and the armed forces matter. They always try to find people mistake but not giving any idea or explanation of what they think is better. All they know is pointing at other people. That's how they do it to ruin this country.
Past is past. Now we have the SPRM to do the job here in Malaysia.
12 Gumdoksori class FAC from South Korea are enough to replace all RMN FAC's + SGPV-LCS.
based on what is stated in wikipedia (yes not the best source) The Gumdoksori is between 50m to 60m, armed with korean made anti ship missiles and korean made SAM (manpad based). It has no Asuw capability but mainly used for surface combatant. Endurance around 14 days.Its price in 2009 terms approximately USd37 million.
Compared that with our requirement that would need ASW and ASuW. So there will be additional requirement for hull mounted sonar etc. Also (i may be wrong) the new class is mainly to replace old FAC that was mainly tasked to fight north korea speed boat and fac near the korean border and close to shore.
While ours will be more open seas i.e the south china sea and would require longer endurance and need to withstand rougher sea state.
But at what price? Only time will tell
The Gumdoksori at 550 tonnes wont have the range, endurance and seakeeping of the Kedah class or LCS/SGPV but yes on paper it should be cheaper. Being a smaller ship it also has no hangar and pad. With Sarawak and Sabah the RMN has more costline and a bigger EEZ to cover than the ROKN. The Gumdoksori is meant to be the ROKN's TEAM B, with TEAM A consisting of the KDX3's and KDX2's. For the RMN, the LCS/SGPV will be it's main combatants, alongside the Lekiu and Kasturi class, our TEAM A.
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If the LCS is equipped with the towed sonar it will be the new Team A unless the Lekius undergoes a SLEP soon.
Marhalim, have you heard anything about the hijack of the MV Leopard which apparently was carrying munitions for the boys at 18 Squadron?
Kamal, the Super Lynx operating from the Kedah class technically can't do ASW as it doesn't have a dipping sonar and the Kedah class doesn't have an ASW sonar. Detection and target coordinates have to be provided by hull mounted sonars on the Lekiu or Kasturi class. The Kedah class does have a hangar and the Super Lynx does operate from it but the problem is we don't have enough helis to go around. One Fennec is already on the Bunga Mas and 1 or 2 helicopters are at Teluk Sepanggar.
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Nothing has been in the public eye since the hijacking. Yes, that the current batch of Super Lynx are not equipped with a dipping sonar. The RMN had said publicly that they want another six Lynx equipped with the dipping sonar. I am wondering that requirement will be met during RMK10.