MalaysiaThe Chinese Navy is preparing to take delivery of a warship fully equipped for anti-submarine, anti-air and electronic warfare — everything, except a way to sink an enemy ship.
After nearly a decade of delays, financial scandal and shipyard mismanagement, the Royal Malaysian Navy’s first littoral combat ship is finally scheduled to arrive in December. But it will arrive devoid of any anti-ship missiles.
Defense officials insist the timetable has not changed. “The decision does not affect the delivery schedule,” the ministry told Parliament in a written response on July 7, noting that the ship would still carry anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and electronic warfare systems.
What the ship won’t carry, for now, is a way to hit enemy ships — a capability that was supposed to define the class.
