Long battle expected for compensation over scrapped missile deal

In May, the Malaysian government abruptly revoked the export licence for a naval strike missile system, known as NSM, which was set to be purchased from Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS. This decision came after the Norwegian government declared that they would only export their defence technology to "allies and closest partners".

The cancellation of the contract, which was originally signed in 2018 for the supply of six littoral combat ships, left Malaysia facing a costly and protracted compensation process. Defence Minister Khaled Nordin has expressed his disappointment with the Norwegian government's lack of cooperation in the matter, despite being the cause of the contract's cancellation.

So far, Malaysia has submitted multiple requests to Norway's top officials, including the prime minister and foreign minister, but has received no assistance. Khaled estimates that the compensation claim could stretch on for a considerable amount of time. The Malaysian government is currently seeking compensation for direct and indirect losses amounting to over RM1 billion, as they had already paid 95% of the RM634 million cost for the NSM system.

In June, Khaled mentioned that Malaysia is exploring the possibility of procuring alternative missile systems from nations such as Italy, Japan, France, Turkey, and South Korea.