Malaysia’ second Littoral Combat Ship, Raja Muda Nala, entered the water for the first time on May 8.
Lumut Naval Shipbuilding has “downslipped” the second Littoral Combat Ship for the Royal Malaysian Navy, LCS 2 Raja Muda Nala, at its Lumut shipyard.
As it did with LCS 1 Maharaja Lela in May 2024, LUNAS describes the May 8 launch of Raja Muda Nala as a “downslip”, with the ship entering water for the first time in the afternoon of May 8 after the signing of the Downslip Safety Checklist earlier that day. LUNAS announced on May 7 that Raja Muda Nala had been moved onto the shipyard’s shiplift, following the installation of its main surveillance radar, main mast and radome.
The downslip was witnessed by LUNAS CEO, Ir. Azhar Jumaat; LUNAS LCS Project Director, Capt. (Rtd) Rosnizam Che Puteh; RMN Head of the Construction Engineering Section (KSKP), Capt. Ir. Malik Hj Sulaiman; Naval Group’s (NG) LCS Programme Director, Mr. Denis Garnier and Bureau Veritas (BV) representative Mr. Fazmizal Ishak.
“This achievement reflects the collective efforts of all teams involved and marks the beginning of the next phase in the vessel’s development,” said LUNAS in an official statement announcing the downslip. “A key milestone in our journey towards Defining Excellence through the LCS project.”
LUNAS also released photographs of Raja Muda Nala following its “downslip”, with the frigate now berthed at a pier next to Maharaja Lela for fitting out ahead of Raja Muda Nala’s builders’ trials.
Raja Muda Nala’s “downslip” is on schedule according to the current schedule for the Littoral Combat Ship program. The schedule calls for Raja Muda Nala to start harbor acceptance tests in July 2025 followed by sea trials in June 2026, with delivery to the Royal Malaysian Navy to take place in April 2027 should the trials complete on schedule.
Raja Muda Nala will have identical equipment and specifications to lead ship Maharaja Lela once commissioned, with those specifications being:
KD Maharaja Lela (2501) main specifications
Displacement: 3,100 tons full load
Length: 111 m (364 ft 2 in)
Beam: 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Draught: 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in)
Propulsion: CODAD
Speed: 28 knots (52 km/h)
Range: 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: 138 sailors
Weapon systems:
- Main gun: 1 × Bofors 57 mm gun
- Secondary gun: 2 × MSI DS30M 30 mm cannon
- SAM: N/A
- ASM: 8 × Naval Strike Missile SSM
- Torpedo: 2 × triple J+S torpedo launcher
