The Royal Malaysian Navy will operate a total of 19 fast interceptor craft built by local firm Gading Marine, following a second-batch order of 13 vessels. Four of the six vessels ordered in the first batch are pictured above. (Royal Malaysian Navy)
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) will start taking deliveries of a second batch of 18 m fast interceptor craft (FIC) from local firm Gading Marine later in 2023, the company told Janes at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023 in Malaysia, held from 23 to 27 May.
In April 2021 Gading Marine completed deliveries to the RMN of an initial batch of six FICs – known as G2000 Mk I vessels – under a USD19.5 million contract signed in 2020. In 2022 Gading Marine signed a follow-on contract with the RMN for 13 additional FICs. The value of the second-batch contract has not been disclosed.
The company said the second-batch models – known as G2000 Mk II – are a modified version of the initial batch. The Mk IIs have a slightly different dimension to the initial batch, having been modified to fit a new remote weapon station (RWS), and an improved top speed of 52 kt compared with 50 kt on the Mk I vessels.
Deliveries of the second-batch FICs are scheduled to be complete by 2024 in three phases, Gading Marine said. The first tranche of four FICs will be supplied to the RMN by September 2023, followed by two tranches of four and five, respectively.
The aluminium-hulled G2000 Mk II FICs displace 26 tonnes and have an overall beam of 4.6 m. They are powered by two MAN V12 diesel engines as well as two Hamilton water-jets.
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