Turkish shipbuilder STM has cut the steel of three Ada-class corvettes for the Royal Malaysian Navy as part of a contract signed in June.
Held at the company’s Istanbul facility, the ceremony formally begins the production phase of the vessels until their expected delivery by mid-2028.
The fleet, also called the Littoral Mission Ships (LMS), will be used by the Southeast Asian government for “a wide range of missions” in open waters once completed.
Throughout the development, STM will work with the local defense sector to equip Kuala Lumpur’s modern warships with corresponding weapons and combat management systems.
“We are committing to the construction of three corvettes for the RMN that will be based on the ADA-Class design, which has demonstrated its reliability and effectiveness in international waters,” STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz said at the event.
“These Corvettes will be outfitted with advanced weapon systems, sensors, and command and control systems, allowing the [Royal Malaysian Navy] to perform a wide range of missions effectively. The construction and outfitting of the ships will take place in Türkiye, involving substantial collaborations with various companies from the Turkish Defence Industry.”
Malaysia’s Littoral Mission Ship
The Malaysian Ada-class corvette will have a length of 100 meters (328 feet) and capacity for more than 100 personnel, a medium-sized maritime helicopter, and at-sea refueling solutions.
It will be equipped with four diesel engines for a speed of over 26 knots (48 kilometers/30 miles per hour), a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers/4,603 miles), and a 14-day endurance.
The hull will be armed with a 76-millimeter main gun, a 30-millimeter secondary gun, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, and decoy launcher systems.