On April 8, 2025, the Royal Malaysian Navy announced that the keel-laying ceremony for the first corvette of the Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) Batch 2 program had been held. The event took place at Istanbul Shipyard.
Royal Malaysian Navy press release – Translated by Naval News
The keel-laying ceremony for the Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) project of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) was officiated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Datuk (Dr.) Zulhelmy bin Ithnain, and witnessed by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense, Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, at Istanbul Shipyard, Türkiye, today.
The keel-laying is a significant milestone in the construction of a ship’s main structure. This traditional ceremony in the shipbuilding industry marks the start of assembling the ship’s major blocks in the dock. It follows the steel-cutting ceremony, which was held on December 4, 2024, and signifies the transition from the initial construction phase to the assembly phase.
During the visit of the Malaysian delegation to Türkiye, the Project Monitoring Committee (PMC) meeting was held on April 7, 2025, chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense alongside company representatives. The PMC oversees the management, administration, contract execution, and progress of the LMSB2 construction. During the meeting, the company presented updates on the progress of all three vessels, demonstrating highly impressive advancements in the project.
Based on the current progress, the LMSB2 vessel is expected to be completed and launched by mid-2026, with delivery to the RMN anticipated by the end of 2027.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were delegates from the Ministry of Defense, representatives of RMN, the Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) Project Team, and Mr. Bülent Soydal, Deputy General Manager of STM (Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik).
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About MILGEM project / Royal Malaysian Navy LMS Batch 2 corvettes
The Ada-class, as part of the MILGEM project, represents the first national ship-building project staged in Turkey. Its goal was to build a modern littoral combat ship with indigenous anti-submarine warfare and high-seas patrol capabilities, extensively using the principles of stealth technology in its design.
The Ada-class Corvette boasts capabilities encompassing the determination, location, classification, identification, and destruction of air, surface, and underwater targets, along with the provision of Naval Gunfire Support. Beyond its offensive capacities, Corvettes excel in evading potential threats while executing maritime operations such as surveillance and patrol, safeguarding coastal areas and infrastructure, as well as overseeing and monitoring Exclusive Economic Zones.
The class is designed to embark on a 10-ton helicopter with platform, hangar and extensive service and handling equipment. Helicopter operations can be performed at sea state 4. A MILGEM corvette is designed to accommodate 106 sailors including the flight crew. The total accommodation is 108 including sickbay.
Milgem-class are multipurpose corvettes able to conduct a wide a range of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare.
LMS Batch 2 Main specifications:
- Displacement: 2500 tonnes
- Length: 99, 56m
- Beam: 14.42m
- Draft: 3.9m
- Propulsion: CODAG (1 GE LM2500 gas turbine and 2 diesel engines)
- Max Speed: 26 knots
- Range: 4000 nautical miles at 14 kts
- Crew: 111
- Weapon: 1x gun 76 mm; 2x 12,7mm STAMP; 8 × Atmaca; 30 mm Aselsan Smash, 4-cell quad pack Haegung SAM, Gökdeniz CIWS
