Khaled said construction of the five ships was 73% complete, with “a 1.68% delay” due to issues involving the original equipment manufacturer, Bernama reported.

He said the first LCS is scheduled to be handed over to the Royal Malaysian Navy in August 2026.

“For your information, we can see that LCS 2, 3, 4, and 5 are under construction, progressing according to schedule,” he was quoted as saying after his working visit to the Lumut naval base.

“As for the second LCS, it is ready to be launched into the water by May, and the ship will be handed over to RMN in April 2027.”

The third ship is expected to be launched in January 2026, he added.

The LCS project – with an original cost of RM9 billion – is said to be the largest defence procurement in Malaysia’s history.

It came under intense scrutiny in 2022 after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that not even one of the six ships had been completed although Putrajaya had already paid out RM6.08 billion.

Due to delays and cost overruns, the project cost has ballooned to RM11.22 billion while the number of vessels to be delivered has been reduced from six to five.

Based on the initial plan, the first ship was supposed to have been delivered in 2019. Under a revised plan, the vessels were scheduled to be delivered in August 2026, April 2027, December 2027, August 2028 and April 2029.