Maharaja Lela-class frigate
The "Maharaja Lela"-class frigates (before known as Second Generation Patrol Vessel (SGPV) or Littoral combat ships (LCS)) is a class of six stealth frigates being built for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). The ships are based on an enlarged version of the , designed by DCNS of France. The contract has been finalised and it has been decided that all six ships will be built by local shipbuilder Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC) for the RMN at a ceiling price of RM9 billion (US$2.8 billion), starting from 2015. The ships will be s long with a  displacement of . Development. In early 2011, Malaysia announced its SGPV program with a budget of RM6 billion (US$1.9 billion) and six foreign shipbuilders announced interest in the project, most notably ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems with the MEKO 200 and Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding with the Sigma class 10514 as well as DCNS's which was ultimately selected. In late 2011, it was announced that the Gowind class had been chosen and that the SGPV program had been awarded to Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC)/DCNS, with the ceiling price increasing to RM9 billion (US$2.8 billion) from RM6 billion (US$1.9  billion). The RM9 billion (US$2.8 billion) contract included intellectual property rights and technology transfer. The ships' sizes had also changed in accordance with the increase in ceiling price, increasing from to . All six ships will be built in Lumut, Malaysia and electronic components will be assembled in Cyberjaya, a township in Malaysia just south of Kuala Lumpur. At DSA 2014, BHIC confirmed that the program is progressing rather well, with some parts already in critical design review the first ship expected to be finished by 2019. BHIC was in charge of designing the Malaysian specification. On 5 October 2014 , RMN chief Admiral Aziz told IHS Jane's that construction of the first of the six ships had started at the BHIC facilities in Lumut, and reiterating a 2019 delivery date for the first ship and the remaining five ships delivered at six-month intervals thereafter. It also stated that RMN's current planning schedule called for sea trials of the first ship to be carried out in 2018 and operational entry in 2019. Delays. In 2020, Malaysian government have announced that the LCS project encountered some delays. The Ministry of Defence awarded the project to BHIC in 2011 and  at least two vessels should have been delivered by 2020 but none of the ships delivered yet as 2020. The Ministry of Defence is considering two options to resolve the delayed RM9 billion LCS project by BHIC. The first option is BHIC need to continue the construction of the first of two ships so the government can resolve it. The second option is the government will ask the DCNS (the original designer) to complete the ships but this option was rejected by the parliament. Following this delays, the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it would call up former Malaysian  Defence Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi regarding the issue of non-delivery of LCS to the navy. PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh said former RMN chief, Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Hj Jaafar and the main contractor of the LCS project, BHIC would also be called. Pangkor assemblyman, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir had said about 200 vendors and contractors will shut down and 10,000 workers will affected if LCS program continue to delay. On 5 May 2021, the Malaysian government decided that it would retain BHIC as the class' shipbuilder. In November 2021, Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin  Hussein said, the first ship will be commissioned in 2025. Characteristics. General. Specifications Sensors. It is believed that the RMN had requested for Thales Herakles radar that used on the FREMM frigates but BHIC had instead chosen the SMART-S. These following sensors have been chosen for the ships. Armament. The Bofors 57 mm gun will be mounted in a stealth cupola similar to the ones mounted on the Swedish s. This frigate also equipped with two MSI DS30M 30 mm cannon as a secondary gun. BHIC also announced that there has been 16 Sylver VLS allocated on the  deck of the ship for the surface-to-air missile although the missiles not contracted yet as 2019. At the LIMA 2015, BHIC confirmed that the Naval Strike Missile had been chosen for this frigate anti-ship missile requirement, winning over the Exocet MM40 Block 3. For the anti-submarine capabilities, it is confirmed that the ships will be equipped with two J+S fixed triple torpedo launcher.