Political Expedience 2,Naval Capability 1

摘要

If anything, the current naval development situation in Malaysia clearly proves how planned devel-opment and naval procurement can go off the rails for a whole variety of reasons. One clear example is the MAHARAJA LELA Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme, based on Naval Group's GOWIND design. A 2013 contract for six 3,1OOt vessels called for delivery in 2018 and service entry for the first vessel in 2019, with the others following on a six-month drum-beat. Currently, the first ship is now expected to be delivered only by the end of 2019, assuming no further delays occur. The delay can be traced back to the Malaysian government's decision to have all six ships built in-country. Naval Group had offered to build the first vessel in France, with Malaysia to build the remaining five, which would have resulted in Naval Group, not Malaysia, shouldering the first-of-class construction risks.