RMN Sepanggar Base To House Malaysia's First Scorpene Submarine

Malaysia's first Scorpene submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, which is expected to arrive in Malaysia from Toulon, France, will be placed at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base in Sepanggar, Sabah.RMN chief, Admiral Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said the submarine crew were undergoing training in Toulon and would sail home at the end of May."Everything is running smoothly as planned. In fact, the RMN base in Sepanggar is expected to be completed to house the submarine by June."With the submarine in place, we hope to promote Malaysia's name to the world and to safeguard the national waters from enemy threats," he told reporters after presenting the prizes to the winners of the design competition for the official emblems of the RMN submarines.He said the development was in line with RMN's responsibility of safeguarding the national waters, including the Exclusive Economic Zone, at all times.Abdul Aziz said the RMN had proposed to the government to open the facilities at the Sepanggar base to be used by other countries."The Defence Ministry has discussed the matter with the government and it was agreed that other countries could use the facilities at the base as long as it was for mutual benefit," he said.The Scorpene submarine, designed and built by the French firm DCNS and Spain's Navantia, has a submerge depth of up to 200m.It is also equipped with six torpedo tubes, which can launch simultaneously as well as anti-ship and anti-submarine torpedoes and anti-surface missiles.The diesel-electric attack submarine has a submerge speed of over 20knots and is capable of carrying 10 torpedoes and 30 mines with fully automated handling and loading of weapons.The second submarine, named KD Tun Razak, in recognition of Malaysia's second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, is expected to arrive at the year-end.Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia' graphic designer Rosli Hassan bagged cash of RM2, 500 when his design won the main prize in the submarine design competition. There were two consolation prize winners.The contest saw 121 entries, comprising 61 for KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and 60 for KD Tun Razak.

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