IPOH – The Malaysian Royal Navy (RMN) ship, Kapal Diraja (KD) Lekir began its deployment from Lumut Naval Base today to represent the RMN at the Rim of The Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 exercise that will be conducted at the Hawaiian Islands, the United States.
The deployment ceremony was officiated by West Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Datuk Abu Bakar Md Ajis at the Operations Jetty, Lumut Naval Base this morning.
The Strategic Communications Division of the Lumut RMN Western Fleet Command Headquarters said in a statement today that KD Lekir is scheduled to return to Lumut on Sept 6 after completing the biggest multilateral maritime exercise organised by the United States Navy from June 29 to Aug 4.
“The duration of the entire deployment throughout the participation of the exercise will be 99 days at sea. KD Lekir’s participation is led by its commanding officer, Cdr Mohd Asri Dasman, and is the second time the RMN has joined the exercise after its successful debut in 2018 by KD Lekiu from the 23rd Frigate Squadron.
“RMN’s participation in the exercise proves our navy’s commitment and readiness to strengthen defence diplomacy at the international level and to boost our national maritime defence assets’ operational capabilities and personnel professionalism to the highest level as a navy at the global level,” the statement read.
The statement said that RIMPAC 2022 would involve the navies from 28 countries around the world, with assets of 41 surface vessels, five submarines, 150 aircraft and almost 25,000 participants.
The objective of the year’s exercise is focused on the importance of enhancing RIMPAC team coalition members’ operational capabilities across the full spectrum of military operations, with the theme ‘Capable, Adaptives, Partners’.
The statement also said that the navy, through KD Lekir, has been accorded the honour to fire the EXOCET MM40 missile for the first time during the exercise.
“This honour is a historic milestone for the RMN as it is the first time a Malaysian Navy vessel will conduct missile firing training outside Malaysian waters,” the statement read.
