He said Naval Group, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the ships based in France, had approved 82% of the detailed design finished by Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) as of November 2019.

He said the detailed design was important to ensure any decisions made later would fulfil the needs of the navy and air force, as end users.

Replying to Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PAS-Pasir Mas) in the Dewan Rakyat, Ikmal Hisham said the remaining 6% of the detailed design work yet to be completed involved the ships’ non-critical areas.

“Naval Group has also decided to send its technical team to conduct an audit on the detailed design this month,” he said.

Fadhli had asked the defence ministry if the delay in the ships’ detailed design would see the delivery of the navy frigates further delayed.

Previously, former defence minister Mohamad Sabu and his then deputy, Liew Chin Tong, had said the projection for the first LCS ship to be completed within two years was unrealistic.

They attributed it to how the detailed design was around 80% complete in September 2021, while Naval Group would need at least 12 months from the date of payment to complete its confirmation of the design.

The LCS project has come under scrutiny after the Public Accounts Committee released a detailed report in August which, among other things, found that not a single ship had been completed although Putrajaya had already spent RM6 billion.