Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Khaled said the commissioning of LCS 1 was now scheduled for December 2026, and LCS 2 for August 2027, based on feedback from Lumut Naval Shipyard (Lunas).

“The delay is not deliberate, but as expected, these are the first ships built in our country and naturally, there are challenges and lessons to be learned,” he said.

“The important thing is to give local talent the space to gain the knowledge needed to build these ships. Once completed, they will serve as a reference for LCS 3, 4, and 5.”

He was responding to a question from Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah) on the sea trial performance of LCS 1 KD Maharajalela and whether the vessel could have been commissioned as early as August 2026.

Khaled said the remaining ships remained on track – LCS 3 for December 2027, LCS 4 for August 2028, and LCS 5 for April 2029.

Admitting that the ministry and the armed forces, particularly the navy, shared widespread concerns about the LCS delays, Khaled said that construction progress for the LCS project stood at 75.75% as of Jan 25, compared with the original plan of 81.57%.

He said that LCS 1 was 82.9% complete, compared to the expected 96.52%.

“The project progress includes hull construction, the installation of main equipment, and the integration of the ship’s systems.

“Although there have been delays from the original schedule, the ministry has been informed by Lunas that LCS 1 has been successfully launched and is now in the installation and integration phase for the ship’s main systems,” he said.

Khaled said that full sea trials for LCS 1 were expected to begin in April after the ship embarks on its first sea-going on Jan 28, following an initial sea testing phase which began on Jan 20.

On costs, he said the total contract for all five LCS vessels was RM11.2 billion, with RM8.3 billion spent to date – roughly 74% of the overall budget.