The global defense, security and aerospace company received a letter of intent from the Malaysian government in July 2006 to procure two new frigates based on the Lekiu design of which Malaysia already operates two.

However, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was then the deputy prime minister and defense minister, deferred the project -- called Batch 2 Lekiu Frigates -- in 2008 because of global economic conditions.

A report by the Malaysian national news agency Bernama said BAE Systems Group Business Development Director Alan Garwood had conveyed interest in continuing with the project in a meeting with Defense Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Royal Malaysian Navy Chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.

The meeting took place at the recent Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima 2009).

"We still want to build the frigates but with the combination of the economic crisis and substantial escalation in supplier prices, we mutually agreed with the Defense Ministry over a year ago to suspend the project," Garwood said in an interview with Bernama and the national radio and television network RTM.

"We have to re-confirm with the Malaysian navy on their current needs as it has been over a year since we stopped working on the old proposal. The old agreement has lapsed. We have to talk again with the Malaysian government on what they want for the future. Then, we can submit the new proposal."

Garwood did say that the government wanted one of the two ships built in the United Kingdom where Malaysian technicians could be sent to learn new technologies and processes. The other ship could then be built in Langkawi using the same Malaysian technicians.

Ahmad Zahid had said earlier that the Batch 2 Lekiu Frigate project was not canceled, but he would not say when the project would restart, nor give a timetable for completion. Even if restarted, it is not certain that BAE Systems would be the main contractor and the government may wish to retender the work, the Bernama report said.

The Malaysian Ministry of Defense placed a contract with Yarrow Shipbuilders -- now BAE Systems Marine -- in Glasgow in the mid 1990s for two light frigates of the Frigate 2000 design. The frigates, The Kapal DiRaja Lekiu and Kapal DiRaja Jebat, were commissioned into the Royal Malaysian Navy in mid 1999.

Weapons include MM40 Exocet block II anti-ship missiles and Seawolf surface-to-air missiles. The main gun for the ships is a Bofors 57mm and they carry two Whitehead 324mm triple-tube torpedo launchers.

Surface search radar is the Saab microwave system Sea Giraffe G/H band. Air search is the Thales Nederland DA08 E/F band. Both ships have landing facilities to accommodate an AgustaWestland Lynx helicopter.

The July 2006 letter of intent from the navy for the procurement of two new frigates based on the Lekiu design noted that Labuan Shipbuilding and Engineering of Sabah, Malaysia, was to be the lead Malaysian facility. The Raytheon-evolved Sea Sparrow missile (ESSM) system had been selected, according to data on the Naval-technology.com Web site.

The two ships in operation carry 146 crew with 18 officers, are 320 feet long and nearly 43 feet wide. Displacement is just under 2,300 tons and top speed is 28 knots. Bernama reported that the Batch 2 frigates would be slightly larger than the original frigates.

More than 80,000 visitors are estimated to have attended Lima 2009 held at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Center, which had more than 300 exhibitors from 24 countries, including Australia, South Africa, the United States, Russia, Norway, the Netherlands and Britain.

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