The aftershocks surrounding the loss of KD Sri Perak on January 8, 1984 in turbulent weather in South China Sea pale in comparison to that of KD Sri Inderapura. The latter caught the attention of the whole nation including myself.
Questions inevitably crop up in the minds of those who have the nation’s safety at heart.
How could the guardian of our shores and shipping lane lost its biggest ship in peace time and worse while berthed at the main naval base in Lumut. How will they perform in time of war?
That question reverberated throughout the country and rekindled my interest which otherwise would have died a natural death.
While browsing through the internet, I stumbled upon this story carried by our mainstream media dated August 28, 2000.
“The Royal Malaysian Navy today test-fired its Seawolf, Aspide and Exocet MM40 missiles aboard its guided missile corvettes, KD Hang Jebat and KD Laksamana Tun Pusmah, during the Operasi Taming Sari 12/2000 exercise in the South China Sea.
The Seawolf surface-to-air missile and Exocet surface-to-surface missiles were fired from the KD Hang Jebat while the Aspide surface-to-air missile was unleashed by KD Laksamana Tun Pusmah.
The Seawolf, a British-made missile with an effective range of six kilometres, smashed into a target drone towed…”
No one, and myself included, will dispute the effectiveness of the French Exocet, the surface to surface missile reputed to be one of the deadliest. What we are really concerned is the ability of our Seawolf Missile-carrying frigates, KD Jebat and KD Lekiu to counter aerial threats.
To start with, let me quote the content of an email from a friend who was actively involved in the launching of the Seawolf missile from the frigate (not corvette as mentioned by the reporter) KD Jebat.
“The target (drone) range was one kilometer…honestly speaking, it did not hit the target not because of system problem like the one encountered by KD Rahmat but more due to human error, i.e. premature activation of the ‘SAFE FIRE’ command…”
Which of the two, the reporter or the crew, would I trust?
On one hand, the reporter claimed that the Seawolf missile smashed into a target and on the other, the crew admitted the failure was caused by human error leaving the drone unscathed? Most probably, the reporter was prevented from being honest with his reporting.
I thought the spinning machine called media have stopped spinning fairy tales about the ability of our missile-carrying frigates especially after what RTM did with KD Rahmat in 1976.
The semi-paralysed KD Rahmat sailed into Malaysian waters in 1972 with the fanfare of being one of the first missile-equipped warship in South East Asia. For the next ten years, she agonisingly carried a pair of ‘white elephants’ on her deck in the form of surface-to-air ‘Seacat quadruple missile launcher’ and ‘director’.
From 1972 until 1982, the year she discarded that token symbol of superiority in favour of conventional weapon, the anti-aircraft missile was tested only once. That was in 1976.
During the test-firing, KD Rahmat was accompanied by a Royal Australian Navy ‘river-class destroyer’ carrying similar missile system. While the missiles from the Australian Navy destroyer had to be diverted before it could destroy the drone, KD Rahmat had to be content with two launches that missed the target by miles. Realising the hopelessness of the situation, the commanding officer, Cdr Cheah Pee Cheng decided to abort the exercise leaving RTM with some spinning work to think about.
Two weeks later, RTM aired a jaw-dropping documentary “TLDM – KD Rahmat berjaya melancarkan peluru berpandu permukaan ke udara” focusing on the flame-belching missile leaving the launcher on a flight to nowhere.
Flight to nowhere? Very true. The two missiles refused to be guided and self-destruct at the end of the journey.
No one can dispute that KD Rahmat had successfully launched her surface to air missiles. But in time of war, it is the hits that matter and not the number of launches. Rest assured, there is no pilot who will volunteer to fly his aircraft in the flight path of the missile so that the navy can record a hit, unless he is a jilted lover bent on committing suicide.
And twenty four years later, the spin is again repeated.
While Seacat missiles have been consigned to the history books, the Seawolf is still a potent weapon. In fact, it is reputed to be one of the most effective anti-aircraft missiles with 80 percent kill ratio and had proven its effectiveness during the Falklands War of 1982.
If the world at large have high regards for the British made Seawolf missile, why then they failed miserably in Malaysian waters? Is it due to contrasting atmosphere or because of constraints beyond the navy’s control?
We all have heard the old adage “practice makes perfect” but how serious are we and in this case TLDM of perfecting the practice.
Since arriving in Malaysia in late 1999, we hardly hear KD Jebat and Lekiu test-firing the Seawolf missile except for that solitary botched attempt in August 2000. That was more than nine years ago. It is absurd to expect the two frigates to be in fighting trim if they are confined to one solitary practice in ten years.
Depriving the two major warships relevant requirements to enhance their defense capability is a grave mistake. It could even be catastrophic. Either discard the launcher / director and replace it with conventional weaponry or provide the necessary funds for the navy to acquire missiles and drones.
If cost is the main hindrance, why then the ministry paid more than half billion ringgit to a company (or crony) that cannot be relied upon to defend the country? We all know that wars and battles are not fought or won by armchair analysts. It is the front line men – the gritty soldiers, sailors and officers, and the wisdom of generals and admirals – that can decide the fate of a country.
In the event of war, ships that cannot defend themselves from air attack will be sitting ducks waiting their turn to be slaughtered.
Since the outbreak of the Second World War, victory or defeat had been decided by the fleet that controlled the sky. The era of warships bombarding each other in full view have long gone.
Remember the ‘demonstrations’ of air power during the curtain raiser of the Pacific War, Pearl Harbour December 1941! Remember the decisive sea Battle that turned the tide of the Pacific War, Battle of Midway Islands June 1942! Remember the tragic conclusion, Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 1945 – all the destructions came from the air.
And nearer to our shores, the battleship Prince of Wales and the cruiser Repulse were doomed from the day the fleet left Singapore. Deprived of air cover, both ships were at the receiving end of sustained aerial attack by the Japanese land based aircraft.
Can our ships defend themselves in similar situation? After dissecting various journals and online forums, and comparing the numerical and technological strength of our navy relative to that of the purported “enemies”, I dread to think of the possibilities.
The Naval high command should not leave the ships’ fate in the hands of politicians. Plead, request or demand allocations even if it means falling out of line. If it still fail to knock some senses into their heads, dismantle the ‘white elephants’ onboard KD Jebat and Lekiu and regress to conventional anti-aircraft weaponry.
Pride comes before a fall and not after.
I was onboard during the test firing.
It was the young officer who fumbled on the control. I think he was excited or nervous.
Until I left the service 4 yrs ago, no test firing was conducted.
Masa di UK kita test fire seawolf ni kat target dipanggil RUstan. Memang best missile ni. Hancur target.
Ntah kenapa balik Malaysia semua tak menjadi. Tapi exocet Jebat kat mana pun okay. Betul lah agaknya sebab kurang latihan.
Pasal komisyen tu. kalau 500 juta RM boleh beli 50 biji seawolf. tiap tahun boleh practice. baru rasa bangga jadi kru kapal.
kita ada uncle yang berkhidmat di TLDM.
dia kata latihan TLDM sangat kurang sebab hendak jimat wang.
betulkah?
Jimat tak kena tempat.
Kalau nak jimat jangan sampai jadikan pelancar seawolf tu hiasan atas geladak. Nak buat apa, nak tayang kat negara jiran. Porah dia orang pun tau ATM Malaysia macam tin kosong.
Macam orang beli kereta mahal tapi tak mampu nak hidupkan roadtax, tukar tayar, isi minyak dll. Pastu simpan kat rumah sampai berkarat.
Bila perang dengan negara lain, suruh anak kapal tembak jetfighter musuh guna M16 atau pakai lastik.
Kalau Malaysia beli sebiji missile, Singapura boleh beli sepuluh biji dengan harga yang sama. Pikirlah sendiri kenapa boleh jadi camtu.
“Plead, request or demand allocations even if it means falling out of line.”
I agree with you on that one but is it worth it?
If you fight so hard, you may lose your job and everything. The weekly golf sessions with VIPs, the routine oversea trips and countless other benefits. The most painful part is seeing the wide grin on the faces of your subordinates who are impatient to climb up.
You should also understand the mentality of our politicians. They only want to hear what suits them. That’s one of the reason our armed forces are poorly equipped. Tell them to buy “A” equipment, they will lecture you that “B” equipment is better because…I think you also know the answer.
KRUASAL I am in total agreement with you here.
I did have experience in working / meeting with a few people who were privileged enough to get this deal. In fact I had been dreaming to be one of the selected few.
No, I don’t envy them. What I don’t understand is the rational behind, on Government part, in buying and spending costs that almost triple of the actual market price / costs. It is as if they (Government) don’t know anything about the market price. I am sure they do.
Talking about commission, to be honest, I do not think any officials / Ministers involved would get a big chunk of money. Some of you may argue I am naive here. But I know, when the deals have been sealed, who are going to drive multiple luxury cars and live in a big mansion. Certainly not the officials.
WHEN THE DEALS HAVE BEEN SEALED, WHO ARE GOING TO DRIVE MULTIPLE LUXURY CARS AND LIVE IN A BIG MANSION. CERTAINLY NOT THE OFFICIALS.
Goodness, so are those people. Let me second guess.
They must be the business cronies of the mininters or their relatives. The most popular case that I know was a former minister that supplied substandard electronis scoreboard for SUKMA. The same person who organised the youth world cup championships. The Malaysian kitchens…..
What I understand is that the minister wanted to be straight, but the immediate family member want to get rich ASAP. Fortunately Najib smelled the rats.
Am I partially right or totally wrong?
That KD Rahmat if I am not mistaken was Hang Jebat. How come they fired only one time. What happened to the stock. I am sure the navy had many more in the store. Don’t tell me they can return old stock to UK.
Maybe they sold the stock as besi buruk.
I think you are right Chong. They sold the missile stock as besi buruk.
Sometime I wonder, how these people can recollect what happened thirty over years back. Never heard this story before.
The ship carried the missile for ten years and tested once. That also missed the target by miles. But RTM said the ship fired the missile successfully. I hope RTM can rerun the documentary so as to dispel our doubts.
Can or not RTM. I want to see whether our missiles hit or miss the target.
Elok juga kalau RTM tayang kembali rakaman tu.
Tapi rasanya RTM tak kan buat. Kalau baca dengan teliti, agak saya yang menulis tu ada first hand experience. Bukan dengar dari mulut orang.
Begitu juga dengan KD Jebat. Rakaman video sekarang jauh lebih canggih dari zaman KD Rahmat. Kalau setakat satu kilometre antara target dengan kapal, camera dengan mudah boleh zoom dan tunjuk macamana target tu bersepai.
Saya pun dah buka youtube. Masa peluru berpandu Exocet surface to surface KD Jebat kena sasaran kontena, dia orang ulang tayang sampai dua kali. Begitu juga masa peluru berpandu Aspide KD Tun Pusmah kena sasaran, dia orang ulang tayang rakaman radar yang menunjukkan target hilang dari skrin radar. Tapi bila part peluru berpandu Seawolf KD Jebat meletup, apa pun tak nampak.
Masa tu saya masih lagi bertugas di atas kapal. Memang betul kata email kawan penulis tu. Sebenarnya target tu tak kena langsung. Kalau kena macamana drone elok saja keluar dari belakang letupan. Tak cacat apa pun.
Kruasal, I can assure u it will never happen because, according to the writer, the missiles missed the target by miles.
If there was a hit, RTM will not hesitate to repeat time and again.
I have an idea, and this is for RTM to think about. Since those days, only RTM had the facility to record such happenings, so there is no possibility of others having the same recording. Why not try cut and paste. I am sure you know how to do it.
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Here’s some theories regarding SeaWolf.
1.) The missile that was fired at that time was a dud. These thing happens all the time.
2.) The drone was equip with stealth technology. I don’t want to say where I got the idea.
3.) Too many birds at that time. They disturb the guidence of the missile.
4.) The missile is defective, aka an upgrade version of SeaCat. Technically SeaWolf is an upgrade version of SeaCat.
Mr warfanatic,
You can tell your theories to the Marines, and may be they can believe you.
I was directly involved in the firing of seawolf in 2000. I was in UK for many years and was also involved in the one and only successful test firing of the missile.
You must have been reading too many fictions or story books to make you believe that the missile was a dud.
The missile was genuine and the target was ordinary. No stealth technology or bullshit of that kind. The missile exploded well before it hit the target because the young officer manning the controller was inexperienced. He pressed the “safe to fire” control too early. Since then, there is no more test firing. I understand TLDM is planning to test fire another one sometime this year.
Seacat and seawolf are like proton saga and proton perdana. Two different technology. An upgraded saga is still a saga and will never be a perdana. If that still cannot make you understand, then I am sorry because I cannot make it simpler.
Hope it clears your fancy theory.
how many simulated firng? in simulation?
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Great stuff. Nice to read some well written insight of what the navy is all about.
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RMN frigates Vs RSN Air Force, a foregone conclusion
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setuju dengan pendapat tuan admin, tanggalkan jer seawolf jebat n lekiu, nak buat apa kalau tldm tak tau guna, sakit kan mata adalah
interesting post, the inside story revealed
Rest assured, there is no pilot who will volunteer to fly his aircraft in the flight path of the missile so that the navy can record a hit, unless he is a jilted lover bent on committing suicide…
Alternatively, employ bomohs and make all rmn ships invisible or cast spell on enemy pilots and make them blind….malaysia boleh maa
Which of the two, the reporter or the crew, would I trust?
The crew are not trained to lie, unlike mainstream media, the editors are paid to twist and turn.
Editor cari makan maaa, write the truth, end of month lost job
Damn stinking shit, the whole country are taken for a ride. Wonder when will rmn acknowledge it’s failure. Goddamnit.
Nak buang sayang, nak simpan tak ada guna. lagipun bukan ramai yang tau peluru berpandu permukaan keudara Jebat n Lekiu tak leh pakai.
But then, one website wrote so much praises about the frigates…you mean it’s just propaganda?
“Built by GEC-Yarrow, these advanced frigates are heavily armed with a Bofors 57mm Mk2 gun, SeaWolf VLS surface to air missile system, MM-40 Exocet SSMs, Whitehead ASW torpedoes and an advanced electronic warfare suite. This makes the frigates one of the most capable surface combatants in South East Asia, capable of countering multiple air, surface and sub-surface threats. The frigates are also designed with stealth elements to enable it to have a low radar cross section. Combat proven in the Falklands conflict, the Sea Wolf missile has an anti-missile capability that will provide the RMN with a much needed advanced Anti Air Warfare system in the frigates’ role as front-line defence vessels.”
You mean all those expensive British missiles are useless or the men handling them are useless. What a disgrace???????
Since test firing her missile in the UK, KD Rahmat remained in menopause mode. You know what menopause mean? Waiting her time to be disposed.
Astonishing article . Will definitely copy it to my blog.Thanks
Good Article with many intrigues that your admirals will find it hard to answer
Thank you very much for the insight
I like this part, very cynical
“Rest assured, there is no pilot who will volunteer to fly his aircraft in the flight path of the missile so that the navy can record a hit, unless he is a jilted lover bent on committing suicide.”
Two weeks later, RTM aired a jaw-dropping documentary “TLDM – KD Rahmat berjaya melancarkan peluru berpandu permukaan ke udara” focusing on the flame-belching missile leaving the launcher on a flight to nowhere.
Script material for RTM drama “Raja Laut 2″
KD Lekiu tgh gian nak lancarkan seawolf 1st time. Virgin punya seawolf beb. Jgn tekejut kalau kuar muka depan UM, BH dan NST macam cita Jebat smash into taget walhal taget tak ape2 pun. Gua yakin yg ni pun same jer…..taget kemane seawolf kemane.
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Good article, but frankly that’s how spin doctors earn their living