KUALA LUMPUR – The United States has indicated it will consider selling the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to Malaysia, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said, offering a potential solution after Norway revoked its export licence.
The matter was discussed with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), held from today until Sunday, Bernama reported.
“I have briefed Secretary Hegseth on the issues facing Malaysia regarding the purchase of NSM from Norway and sought the US’s views on the matter,” Mohamed Khaled told Bernama.
“We have asked the US for its views to help find a solution to the issue at hand because, it is well known that there is a US company that manufactures the same missile as Norway. We have asked whether the US is willing to allow the sale of the missile to us to address the problem at hand.”
Previously, Norway revoked the export licence for the NSM anti-ship missile and its launcher system, citing national security concerns. The original contract, signed in April 2018 between the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace US (KDA), was valued at 124 million euros (RM571.9 million) to equip six new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).
Mohamed Khaled added that the US also proposed sharing information on Malaysia’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) initiatives.
The minister also met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles to discuss strengthening bilateral strategic cooperation, including the establishment of a Joint Planning Committee, expanded information sharing, and preparations for the upcoming Malaysia-Australia High Level Committee (HLC) and Five-Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) meetings.
“I congratulate Australia on the implementation of the National Defence Strategy 2026 (NDS 2026) and Integrated Investment Programme 2026 (IIP 2026) as important steps in strengthening its defence capabilities and readiness,” he said.
On Canada, Mohamed Khaled noted that both countries are keen to formalise defence cooperation. “We propose that a formal form of defence cooperation be established that is signed by both countries because currently the existing cooperation is not based on any agreement,” he said.
The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2026, organised by the International Institute of Strategic Studies at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, brings together defence ministers, military chiefs, and diplomats to discuss regional and global security matters. – May 29, 2026