He said this is an important procurement deal for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).

“God willing, we are finalising the LMS (deal). It is important that the country has these ships in our fleet.

“We are discussing with Turkey to finalise the LMS procurement,” he said after opening the Turkish Aerospace Malaysia operations hub here today.

Yesterday, Bernama reported that Turkish shipbuilder Turkiye Savunma Teknolojieri Muhendiskil (STM) was optimistic about sealing the LMS batch 2 deal to supply RMN with the Ada-class Corvette.

STM general manager Ozgur Guleryuz said discussions with RMN and the defence ministry have been going smoothly for nearly two years.

Khaled said he believes both countries can explore various areas of cooperation in the development of Turkey’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, KAAN.

He also praised Turkey’s willingness to share technology with Malaysia in defence and aerospace, reflecting the special relationship between the two countries.