KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA - Malaysia's first submarine, the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, demonstrated its capability when it fired at a target located 40km away from a depth of 55m.

Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Laksamana Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said the test firing of the Exocet SM39 Block 2 missile was part of contractual activities in the submarine's tropical operations.

He said 55m was a depth that posed difficulties for anti-submarine ships to adopt counter-measures.

The missile hit its 40m-long target - a floating platform located 22 nautical miles (40km) away on the surface.

Laksamana Abdul Aziz said the test firing of the missile, at exactly 10.15am on Monday in the South China Sea, was proof that the RMN and the submarine were capable of launching an attack from below the sea surface.

Laksamana Abdul Aziz, who witnessed the test, said it was also aimed at confirming the effectiveness of the Exocet SM39 Blok 2 missile and the capabilities of the submarine's weapons system, better know as SUBTICSKD TAR, in tropical conditions.

He said the Exocet SM39 Blok 2, sourced from France in 2008, was a submarine-to-surface missile weighing 2,100kg, with a length of 6m and a diameter of 35cm.

- The Star/Asia News Network