26 April 2012
RMN currently operates two Scorpene submarine (photo : digital9ziI)
Kuala Lumpur: Aside from maintaining two
Scorpene submarines, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) plans to buy more
submarines to boost the national's naval defence capability, said Navy chief
Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.
He said, however, the plan could not be
implemented in the near term due to budget constraints while time was needed to
train naval officers on the fundamental skills in submarine operations and
gained the experience.
"The skills and experience are needed to
ensure that the submarines can be operated safely and effectively," he
told Bernama. The navy took delivery of two Scorpene submarines costing RM3.4
billion from France
Abdul Aziz said he was satisfied with the
performance of both submarines after three years in operation to protect
national waters from invasion and encroachment.
"I am proud to have received letters of
commendation from distinguished guests, who have taken a dive on the
submarines, including the Sultan of Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the
Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Penang Chief Minister Lim
Guan Eng," said Abdul Aziz.
On the 78th Royal Malaysian Navy Day celebration
tomorrow, he said the theme 'Innovative Personnel engender Transformation'
manifested the navy vision to be a world-class entity through a culture of
innovation.
Describing the challenges faced by the navy as
"software and hardware", he said: "The first challenge is to
retain skilled personnel in the service due to competition, and attractive and
lucrative offers awaiting them in the corporate world.
"The second challenge is to maintain the
level of preparedness of naval assets, especially involving aging assets as
they are getting obsolete, and technological development."
On piracy threats especially in the Straits of
Melaka, he said naval boats were intensifying patrols in identified hot spots
besides conducting integrated operations jointly with maritime agencies from
neighbouring countries.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar