Malaysia 1st submarine to arrive on Sept 17, 2009

Source - the daily express kota kinabalu

The Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) first Scorpene submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, will be arriving at its Region 2 naval base in Sepanggar Bay, here, Sept. 17.

Deputy Navy Commander, Lt Admiral Datuk Mohammed Noordin Ali, said the second one KD Tun Abdul Razak will be arriving between March and April next year.

The submarines, armed with Blackshark wire-guided torpedoes and Exocet SM-39 sub-launched anti-ship missiles, are part of the RMN's Future Fleet programme.

Both were built jointly by the French shipbuilder DCNS and its Spanish partner, Navantia.

Mohd Noordin was speaking after he witnessed the exchanging of duty between outgoing Region 2 Commander, First Admiral Datuk Syed Zahiruddin Putra Syed Osman, and his successor First Admiral Anuwi Hassan in a ceremony held at the said naval base Tuesday.

Syed Zahiruddin is going to Indonesia for more than one-year's study.

Mohd Noordin said Malaysian waters including within this region are well-guarded including from piracy.

"This includes Sabah waters É we have enough manpower stationed at all the islands along the East Coast especially under the currently implemented Ops Pasir," he said.

He hoped the people of Sabah would continue to extend their full co-operation to the navy in carrying out their duty to maintaining security at sea.

Earlier he also disclosed that the Perak State Government has agreed to rename Lumut as the Malaysian Navy City, which would be the first of its kind in the country.