The Royal Malaysian Navy’s third and final Littoral Mission Ship Batch II (LMSB2) corvette, TUNKU OSMAN JEWA (143), was launched at Istanbul Shipyard in Türkiye on 9 August.
The naming and launch ceremony completed the launch sequence for Malaysia’s three-ship LMS Batch II program. The first vessel, TUNKU LAKSAMANA ABDUL JALIL (141), was launched on 24 May 2026, followed by RAJA LAUT (142) on 7 June.
The Sultan of Kedah, Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, attended the ceremony. Sultanah Maliha binti Almarhum Tengku Ariff served as the vessel’s Royal Sponsor. Members of the Kedah royal family, Malaysian Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Malek Razak bin Sulaiman, RMN Deputy Chief Vice Admiral Datuk Ts. Badarudin bin Taha, Turkish officials, and industry representatives also attended.
The new corvette is named after the late General Tan Sri Tunku Osman bin Tunku Mohammad Jewa, a member of the Kedah royal family and Malaysia’s first Chief of Defence Forces appointed from among the country’s native-born personnel.
“These corvettes will support the phased replacement of our ageing ships and strengthen the Royal Malaysian Navy’s ability to protect our waters in an increasingly complex operating environment. The pace of this programme reflects the strength of the partnership between Malaysia and Türkiye and points to wider opportunities for defence cooperation. I thank STM, Istanbul Shipyard, the RMN Project Team, and everyone involved in the project. A launch is a milestone, not the finish line. We must carry this momentum through and deliver all vessels by the end of 2027.”
General Datuk Haji Malek Razak bin Sulaiman, Chief of Defence Force of Malaysia
All three ships are being built by STM at Istanbul Shipyard under the Royal Malaysian Navy’s LMS Batch II program. The project followed the signing of a government-to-government memorandum of understanding and the delivery of the Letter of Acceptance in Ankara in June 2024. Steel cutting began in December 2024, with keel laying following in April 2025.
With the launch of TUNKU OSMAN JEWA, the three vessels will enter their next construction phase in parallel. This will include fitting out, installation and integration of sensor, combat and weapon systems, harbour acceptance trials, and sea acceptance trials. The Royal Malaysian Navy stated that the ships remain on schedule for delivery by the end of 2027.
“Today, we are proud to launch TUNKU OSMAN JEWA, the third and final vessel of the LMS Batch-2 Project for the Royal Malaysian Navy. This project marks both the first Government-to-Government (G2G) defence procurement agreement between Türkiye and Malaysia and Türkiye’s first corvette export to the Asia-Pacific region. With this launch, we have successfully launched all three corvettes within just four months, marking another major milestone for the programme. With the completion of the launching phase, the project now moves into outfitting, systems integration, harbour acceptance tests and sea acceptance trials. With the same determination and commitment, we aim to deliver all three vessels to the Royal Malaysian Navy in 2027.”
STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz
About LMS Batch-2
The Signing Ceremony for the G2G Memorandum of Understanding on the Procurement of Defense Products between Türkiye and Malaysia, along with the Handover Ceremony for the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) for the LMS Batch-2 Project for the Royal Malaysian Navy, was held in Ankara on June 10, 2024. Following the steel cutting ceremony held in Istanbul on December 4, 2024, the project moved forward rapidly with the keel laying ceremony for the corvettes, which took place on April 8, 2025. The first vessel of the project was launched during a ceremony held on 24 May 2026.
STM, as main contractor, is responsible for all phases of the project, starting from design to the performance, and from construction to delivery. STM undertakes the ship design, project management (including construction management), material/system procurements, integration design and assembly, testing and Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) activities, as well as the preparation of the design and ILS documents related to the Project.
The three corvettes, the design of which has been tailored by STM to meet the requirements of the Royal Malaysian Navy, will be constructed in Türkiye within the scope of the Littoral Mission Ship Batch-2 (LMSB2) Project.
STM Littoral Mission Ship (LMSB2) is a highly flexible and proven platform that complies with modern naval norms, standards and classification society rules. The capabilities of similar combat platforms produced by STM in terms of safety, performance, reliability and ease of maintenance have been tested, and have proven themselves during operations in the open and coastal seas, and under heavy sea conditions.
LMSs can be tasked with a wide range of duties including ASUW, AAW, Asymmetric Warfare (ASYW) and EW, drawing upon the capabilities of the most advanced Sensors & Weapons Suite and Command & Control System.
The construction and outfitting of the ships will be carried out in Türkiye with the intensive involvement of Turkish defence industry companies. STM, in its role as main contractor, has turned to the Turkish defence sector for equipment such as the Combat Management System; the Gun Fire Control System, to be supplied by HAVELSAN; and the 3D Search Radar, Fire Control Radar, IFF, 30mm Gun, ESM and Chaff Decoy System, as well as other electronic sensors, to be supplied by ASELSAN. ROKETSAN will be supplying its ATMACA Surface-to-Surface G/M System.
Design, Purpose and Capabilities
- Unsurpassed Maneuvering and Seakeeping Capabilities
- Stealth Design and Low Radar Cross Section (RCS)
- Redundancy Philosophy
- High AAW, ASUW and EW Capabilities by means of the Well-Integrated Redundant Weapon & Sensor Configuration
- High Durability, Distributed and redundant Sensors & Weapons against Fire and Damage
- HELO Deck & Hangar for a Medium-Size Helicopter and Refuelling Facilities
Main Dimensions
- Overall Length (Loa) : 99.56 m
- Max. Beam (Bmax) : 14.42 m
- Draft (T) : 3.94 m
- Displacement : ~2,500 tons
Speed & Endurance
- Max. Speed : +26 knots (CODAD)
- Cruising Speed : 14 knots
- Range : +4000 nm at 14 knots
Personnel & Endurance
- Personnel : 111 (officers, crew and guests)
- Endurance : 14 days
Main Propulsion/ Power Generation
- 4 x Diesel Engines (CODAD Propulsion System)
- 2 x Reduction Gears
- 2 x Shafts
- 2 x CPP Propellers
- 4 x Diesel Generators
- Fin Stabilizer
Weapons
- 1 x 76 mm Main Gun
- 2 x 4 SSMs
- 1 x 30 mm Secondary Gun
- 2 x 2 SAMs
- 2 x Decoy Launcher Systems (DLS)
Sensors
- Combat Management System (CMS)
- 3D Surveillance Radar
- IFF System (integrated with 3D radar)
- 1 x Fire Control Radar (with EO Suite)
- Gun Fire Control System (embedded in the CMS)
- 2 x Target Designation Sights (TDS)
- C-ESM System
- Tactical Data Link System (LINK-Y)
- Electronic Plotting Table
