Malaysian Defence reported that the third ship from the Laksamana class corvette – KD Laksamana Muhammad Amin (pennant number 136) is undergoing a refit at the Grade Marine One Shipyard Sdn Bhd in Lumut where she will get a new hull as part of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia) Obsolescence Programme. This is the same method as the OP programme for the fast attack craft (FAC) fleet. Under the RMN’s 15-to-5 programme, both the FAC fleet and the Laksamana class corvettes were supposed to be paid off once their replacement are build.
KD Laksamana Muhammad Amin (F136) is the third ship of Laksamana-class corvette currently in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy. She built by Fincantieri based on the Type 550 corvette design and currently serving in the 24th corvette Squadron of the Royal Malaysian Navy. The Laksamana-class corvettes of the Royal Malaysian Navy are modified Assad-class corvettes built by Fincantieri, Italy. They were originally ordered by Iraqi Navy in February 1981. The corvettes were never delivered to Iraq and instead refitted and sold to Malaysia in mid 1990s. The ship was commissioned as KD Laksamana Muhammad Amin on 31 July 1999.
The Laksamana class is a class of small missile corvettes comprising four ships currently in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy. All four ships of the Laksamana class are currently serving in the 24th Corvette Squadron of the Royal Malaysian Navy. The Laksamana class was armed with the MBDA Otomat Mark 2/Teseo long-range sea-skimming missile with six missile launchers installed on the stern deck, three pointing to port and three pointing starboard.
Due to their obsoleted after served for a long time in RMN, KD Laksamana Muhammad Amin together with the other sister ships will be upgrade to extend their service life. In 2015, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has given further details of the proposed service life extension programme (SLEP) for its Laksamana (ASSAD)-class corvettes. The plans, which include a replacement of the ships’ surface-to-surface missile launchers and fire-control radar, were outlined by Commander Badarudin Bin Taha, a staff officer from the RMN’s plans development division, during the fifth annual OPVs & Corvettes Asia Pacific conference in Singapore.
