MEKO Makes its Mark in Malaysia

8 November 2001

Meko A-100 for the Royal malaysia Navy (photo : Naval-Technology)

The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Patrol Vessel (PV) programme finally transitioned from paper to steel in June this year when the first metal for PV1 was cut at the Hamburg yard of Blohm + Voss. This event, initiated by head of the resident RMN Project Team Capt Amzah bin Sulaiman, marked the opening of another chapter in the already protracted history of the New Generation Patrol Vessel (NGPV) project, first instituted a decade ago.

Rarely in recent memory has a single naval procurement activity generated so much commercial jockeying and frenzied marketing, further coloured by the unavoidable entanglements of both domestic and international politics, and punctuated by a major regional economic crisis. For much of the last decade, warship builders and combat system suppliers worldwide saw the putative requirement for up to 27 offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) - an initial batch of six, to be followed by three further batches of seven over a 15-year period - as a prestigious prize. Such a contract would secure important long-term business and establish a firm foothold from which to further penetrate the Malaysian market. At the same time, the Malaysian government assiduously offered the NGPV programme to all comers to encourage inward investment and technology transfer, and to build up its domestic industrial capability under the Vision 2020 initiative.

Sumber : Jane’s