M'sia first scorene submarine launches

Unveiling of the Scorpene-class underwater attack craft, is the highlight of a four-day visit to France by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

In keeping with the world's age-old navy tradition under the British empire that only women should inaugurate a ship, Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, will have the honour of performing the customary launch by breaking a bottle across the bow of the vessel at DCNS dockyard in the port city of Cherbourg, about 350km from Paris, at 1pm local time (7pm Malaysia time).

Rosmah will also officially name the state-of-the-art submarine as "KD Tunku Abdul Rahman", after Malaysia's first prime minister.

The first of the two submarines ordered for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), the 67.5m-long submarine equipped with torpedoes, sub-surface-to-surface missiles and sea mines, is manned by only a 31-member crew due to high level of automation.//BERNAMA