The ''Lekiu''-class frigates are a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s of the

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defence operations. RMN's area of operation consists of 603,2 ...

. They are the largest and most modern

surface combatant Surface combatants (or surface ships or surface vessels) are a subset of naval warships which are designed for naval warfare, warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons and armed forces. They are generally ships built to fight oth ...

s of the Royal Malaysian Navy, until the ''Maharaja Lela''-class frigates are completed. The class comprises two vessels, and KD ''Lekiu''. The class is named after the second ship of the class which was launched before ''Jebat''. The two ships of the class are named after Hang Lekiu and

Hang Jebat Hang Jebat ( Jawi: ; born ) was the closest companion of the legendary Malaccan hero Hang Tuah.Khoo, Gaik Cheng. Reclaiming Adat: Contemporary Malaysian Film and Literature'. Canada, UBC Press, 2011. 23. Regarded in Malaysia as one of the ...

, two figures from the Malay 15th-century epic narrative ''

Hikayat Hang Tuah ''Hikayat Hang Tuah'' ( Jawi: حکاية هڠ تواه) is a Malay work of literature that tells the tale of the legendary Malay warrior Hang Tuah and his four warrior friends – Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu – who li ...

''. They share this characteristic with the two s, KD ''Kasturi'' and KD ''Lekir'', as well as the old frigate-turned-

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

, all of which are named after figures from the epic as well.

Development

The ships were built in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also o ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

(now

BAE Systems Surface Ships BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and the seventh largest i ...

) from the company's standard F2000 frigate design. ''Lekiu'' was launched in December 1994 while the ''Jebat'' was launched in May 1995. ''Jebat'' carries the lower pennant number (FFG29) to signify the seniority of this ship, which accommodates the Admiral of the Royal Malaysian Navy. (

succeeded

Hang Tuah Hang Tuah ( Jawi: , from /tuha/ or /toh/ (توه)), according to the semi-historical ''Malay Annals'' (), was a warrior and Laksamana (equivalent to modern-day Admiral) who lived in Malacca during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah in the 15th cen ...

as Laksamana (Admiral) during the

Melaka Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...

, while ''Hang Lekiu'' was never made a Laksamana.) The purchase of the two ships of the ''Lekiu'' class involved a major transfer of technology programme and an offset programme where some portion of the contract value would involve purchases and services contracted to Malaysian companies. Delivery and operational status were delayed due to integration of combat systems problems. The ships were commissioned in March and May 1999. The ships represented a huge jump in capability compared to the frigates then operated by the Royal Malaysian Navy, and (ex-HMS ''Mermaid''). Both ''Jebat'' and ''Lekiu'' serve in the 23 Frigate Squadron of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Delays

The ''Lekiu'' class faced serious delays due to difficulties in the systems integration of the weapons and weapons control system (i.e., software problems). These problems were overcome and the delivery and commissioning of the two ships was completed on 7 October and 10 November 1999.

Plans for further ships

Malaysian Minister of Defence

Najib Tun Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...

announced at the 2006

Farnborough Air Show The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...

that Malaysia would be buying two frigates from the United Kingdom under Project Brave. The ''Evening Times'' reported on 20 July 2006 that the Clyde shipyard has won a contract to build two ''Lekiu'' class-frigates for Malaysia. The two ships were to have been completed at

Labuan Shipyard and Engineering Labuan Shipyard and Engineering (LSE) is a Malaysian shipbuilding company based in the East Malaysian island of Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. It is the biggest shipyard in Borneo. History LSE was formed in 1972 and its main operations ce ...

as a condition of the deal but were cancelled in August 2009. In 2013, Malaysia announced the purchasing of ''Maharaja Lela''-class frigates and the ''Lekiu'' class batch 2 is presumed to be cancelled.

Service Life Extension Program (SLEP)

A limited service life extension program started in 2015. Upgrades include Thales Vigile 100 Mk2 ESM replacing the BAE Mentor A, Chess Dynamics Sea Eagle FCEO replacing the BAE Type V 3001 and Terma Scanter 6000 navigation radar. In January 2025, it is confirmed that Malaysia planned to upgrade ''Lekiu'' class with

Naval Strike Missile The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA). The original Norwegian name was ''Nytt sjømålsmissil'' (literally "New sea target missile", indic ...

as its new anti-ship missile.

Major operation

KD ''Lekiu'' together with KD ''Sri Inderapura'' involved in Ops Fajar 4 mission/

Anti-piracy measures in Somalia Anti-piracy may refer to: * Anti-piracy measures, measures to combat or prevent maritime piracy * , efforts to fight or prevent copyright infringement, counterfeiting, and other violations of intellectual property laws See also * Pirate (disamb ...

by Royal Malaysian navy in

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

in 2008. Both ships were tasked to return two hijacked Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC) shipping vessels MT ''Bunga Melati Dua'' and MT ''Bunga Melati Lima'' to Malaysia. In 2013 KD ''Jebat'' was involved in a naval blockade in

2013 Lahad Datu standoff The 2013 Lahad Datu standoff, also known as the Lahad Datu incursion or Operation Daulat (), was a military conflict in Lahad Datu District, Lahad Datu, Malaysia. The conflict began on 11 February, when 235 militants arrived in Lahad Datu by bo ...

. In 2014, KD ''Lekiu'' involved in MH370's Search and Rescue Operation in the South Indian Ocean for several months. In 2018, KD ''Lekiu'' participated in the world's largest maritime exercise

RIMPAC The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...

Ships of the class

Gallery

File:RAN-IFR 2013 D3 143.JPG, KD ''Jebat'' moored in Sydney Harbour in October 2013. File:KD Lekiu (FFGH 30) passes by the fast-attack submarine USS La Jolla (SSN 701) during a submarine warfare exercise.jpeg, KD ''Lekiu'' passes by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

submarine during a submarine warfare exercise at CARAT 2011. File:KD Jebat (FFG 29) at CARAT 2013.jpeg, KD ''Jebat'' underway off the coast of Malaysia during a divisional tactics drill as part of

Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) is a series of annual bilateral military exercises conducted by the United States Pacific Fleet, with several member nations of ASEAN in Southeast Asia. Currently, the navies of Bangladesh, ...

(CARAT) Malaysia 2013. File:USS Freedom participates in Carat 2013. (9135089157).jpg, A rigid-hull inflatable boat from the LCS takes a visit, board, search and seizure team to the Malaysian frigate KD ''Jebat'' during a compliant boarding exercise. File:RAN-IFR_2013_D2_30.JPG, KD ''Jebat'' entering

Sydney harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

for the Sydney

International Fleet Review 2013 The International Fleet Review 2013 was a Fleet Review, review that took place on the week 3 to 11 October 2013, as part of the celebrations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the entry of the first Royal Australian Navy fleet in Sydney Harbo ...

. File:Malaysia KD Lekiu (30) during Milan 2018 exercise.jpg, KD ''Lekiu'' during Milan 2018 exercise hosted by

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. File:KD Lekiu night at the naval port.jpg, KD ''Lekiu'' docked at RMN Lumut Naval Base at night.

References

External links

Lekiu Class, Malaysia(naval technology)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekiu Class Frigate Frigate classes