KD ''Lekir'' is the second ship of

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

currently serving in the

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of o ...

. Together with her sister ship ''Kasturi'', ''Lekir'' serves in the 22nd Corvette Squadron of the

Construction and career

''Lekir'' was built by the German

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...

(HDW) shipyard. She was launched on 14 May 1983 and commissioned on 15 August 1984. In October 2011, ''Lekir'' underwent an extensive modernisation known as Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) and it was completed in November 2014. Like her sister ship ''Kasturi'', the upgraded consisted of TACTICOS Combat Management System from

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

to replace the older Signaal SEWACO MA command system. The DR3000S Electronic Support Measures suite and Therma SKWS Decoy Launching System were also installed. The DA-08 search radar and the WM22 fire control radar were overhauled and the Thales MIRADOR electro-optical sensor replaced the Signaal LIOD optronic director. For anti-submarine warfare, a DSQS-24C hull-mounted sonar from Atlas Elektronik was installed to complement the new torpedo-launch capabilities. During Exercise Taming Sari 21/2022 that took place between 16 and 20 May 2022 in the Strait of Malacca, ''Lekir'' live-fired an Exocet MM40 missile. ''Lekir'' fired the Exocet MM40 missile during the

Rim of the Pacific RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held i ...

(RIMPAC) exercise that took place between 29 June until 4 August 2022 off Hawaii.

References

{{Royal Malaysian Navy Ships Kasturi-class corvettes Corvettes of Malaysia 1983 ships Corvettes of the Cold War Ships built in Bremen (state)