KUALA LUMPUR: KD Lekir has successfully launched the EXOCET MM40 missile directly to its target in the waters of Hawaii, United States (US) in the 'Sinking Exercise' (SINKEX) training series at sea Exercise 'Rim of the Pacific' (RIMPAC) 2022, last Tuesday.
The Kasturi-class corvette type ship also made history as it was the first time the navy had fired a missile outside Malaysian waters.
Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany in a statement said KD Lekir was the second RMN ship to participate in RIMPAC.
"For 2022, 38 ships and four submarines from 26 navies took part in this exercise.
"This is the second RIMPAC that the navy participated in after KD Lekiu in 2018.
"Unlike Malaysia's debut in 2018, this year KD Lekir launched an Exocet MM40 Block 2 Missile at a target as part of the exercise," he said.
The target was Ex-USS Rodney M. Davis (Oliver Hazard Perry Class Guided Missile Frigate).
"KD Lekir launched its missile on Tuesday afternoon and impacted the target minutes later.
Reza said KD Lekir had also successfully launched a missile of the same type on May 22, 2022, during the TAMING SARI 21/22 exercise North of the Melaka Straits as preparations for the 28th RIMPAC.
"After two weeks in port, RIMPAC participants were out for training at sea for 22 days on July 11 involving 38 ships, four submarines and more than 170 aircraft belonging to 26 countries.
"Meanwhile, RIMPAC Combined Information Bureau informed that the firing was carried out on a target located in waters with a depth of 15,000 feet, about 50 nautical miles north of Kauai in Hawaii.
"Units from Australia, Canada, Malaysia and the U.S. participated in the sinking exercise to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea," it said.
It also stated former navy vessels used in SINKEXs were prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency under a general permit the Navy holds pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.