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KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Defence Ministry said it will discuss with Norway a shift in Oslo’s position regarding \u200cdefence export approvals that has halted the supply of missiles \u200cintended for its naval combat ships, in the latest blow to the project.<\/p>\n
In a statement \u200bon Thursday, Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin confirmed that the ministry holds a procurement contract with Norwegian defence firm Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS for the supply of Naval Strike Missile (NSM) guided missiles which are used to \u200cequip the country’s Littoral Combat \u2060Ships (LCS).<\/p>\n
The Norwegian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS did not immediately respond to a request \u2060for comment.<\/p>\n
Malaysia’s LCS project, awarded in 2011 for six vessels at an initial cost of 6 billion ringgit, has been dogged by serious mismanagement problems \u200bwhere \u200bthe cost of it has ballooned \u200bover the years while the \u200cships remained undelivered.<\/p>\n
The project was relaunched in 2023 following a government review, with the decision made to acquire only five ships instead of six. The first vessel, which was originally scheduled for delivery in August this year, was pushed back to December due to late equipment deliveries \u200cfrom manufacturers and ongoing rework issues.<\/p>\n
The statement \u200bcame in response to a report on \u200ba Malaysian defence news portal \u200bthat Norway had banned the deliveries of the missiles \u200cto Malaysia just days before \u200bthe scheduled date.<\/p>\n
“The Ministry \u200btakes note of the change in the Norwegian government’s position regarding defence export approvals, which has affected the implementation of the \u200bsaid contract,” Mohamed Khaled \u200csaid.<\/p>\n
Mohamed Khaled added that they will seek further clarification and \u200bdiscuss appropriate steps to safeguard the nation’s interests.<\/p>\n
($1 = 3.9070 ringgit)<\/p>\n
(Reporting \u200bby Ashley TangEditing by Alexandra Hudson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n