Kuala lumpur: The Defence Ministry (Mindef) is in the final stage of shortlisting a surface-to-surface missile system from three countries to replace the system for the Royal Malaysian Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). Without disclosing the three countries, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said several issues needed to be finalised before a government decision could be made.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Defence Minister stated, "We are at the final stage. We have shortlisted three surface-to-surface missiles from three countries," during a press conference after officiating the launch of the Cyber Force Nucleus Team in conjunction with the 93rd Malaysian Armed Forces Day at the Royal Malaysian Navy Base.

In July, Malaysia decided to immediately halt any procurement of new defence equipment or assets from Norway following the country's decision to revoke the export licence for the LCS missile system.

Meanwhile, commenting on the possibility of Malaysia acquiring the BrahMos air-to-surface missile system from India, the Defence Minister said the matter would be referred to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) for study. He emphasized the need to consider the implications and integration of the system, as well as upgrading the systems on RMAF defence assets, including the Sukhoi fighter aircraft.

The Defence Minister also highlighted the importance of reviewing Malaysia's defence doctrine, noting that current systems have a range of no more than 100 kilometres, while the BrahMos system has a range of 300 to 400 kilometres.

Last week, during his visit to New Delhi, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that Malaysia was exploring and studying preliminary discussions on acquiring the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system from India.