LCS 1 may not be fully operational until 2035, audit finds

The navy’s first littoral combat ship (LCS 1) could be handed over unarmed and might not be fully operational until December 2035, the national audit department says.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report 2/2026 released today, trials and commissioning could not be completed on schedule, with five complementary contracts for weapons and support systems still incomplete.

“If LCS 1 is handed over on Aug 26, 2026 or Dec 26, 2026, the ship will be delivered without complete training and weapon systems,” the department said, referring to the initial date of handover and the revised target.

Through its audit, the department found that the most serious issue involved the ship’s surface-to-surface missiles (SSM), with deliveries delayed twice this year before supplies were halted following the suspension of the supplier’s export licence.

“The government is still in discussions with the SSM supplier,” it said, adding that re-procurement would take an estimated 36 months if the existing contract could not proceed.

If a new contract then ran for six years, as the original did, SSM supply would be completed only in December 2035, it added.

While the report did not name the supplier or country involved, Malaysia is reportedly seeking more than RM1 billion in compensation from Norwegian defence company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace after Norway revoked its export permit for the missile system.

Malaysia ordered the system from Kongsberg under a 2018 contract to equip six LCS.

Defence minister Khaled Nordin told the Dewan Rakyat in July that the revocation would not affect the LCS delivery schedule. The ministry is evaluating replacement missiles.

The audit also found that, as of June 25, the overall LCS project was 7.55% behind schedule across all five ships, with delays ranging from 30 to 108 days.

LCS 1 was 13.88%, or 108 days, behind schedule in equipment, construction, and trial and commissioning work.

In the report, the national audit department recommended that the defence ministry establish a realistic recovery plan to ensure that all critical activities under the main contract and complementary contracts are aligned with the physical handover schedule.

The ministry was also urged to set clear obligations, completion periods and responsibilities for contractors if the ships are conditionally accepted, and to strengthen project monitoring by assigning officers to oversee each critical issue and setting deadlines for resolving them.

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