Procurement returns to Malaysia. (Shows & Exhibitions).

Over the years, Defence Services Asia (DSA) has become the main tri-service defence exhibition in Asia. This year, DSA opened its doors on 8 April, took place near Kuala Lumpur and came at just the right time, as Malaysia is embarking on its first significant defence modernisation programmes for more than two years. Major contracts were announced at the exhibition and more contracts are due to be let before year's end.

At the end of the 1980s, Malaysia embarked on a major defence modernisation programme through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with Britain that covered Hawk trainer and combat aircraft, two frigates and other programmes. In the 1990s, the major news was the acquisition of RAC-MiG MiG-29N/NUB and Boeing F/A-18D combat aircraft. The economic downturn at the end of the 1990s halted progress on the majority of modernisation programmes, however, as this DSA demonstrate, the restraints are now being taken off and the action in Malaysia is increasing in tempo.

Air Defence Procurement

The largest single contract signed at DSA was with MBDA for the Jernas Short-Range Air Defence system. Valued at $ 316 million, the contract covers nine Jernas fire units, three tracking and three surveillance radars and a full training and support package. MBDA has committed to a technology transfer programme to Malaysian industry and to the manufacture of Jernas subsystems in country.

It had also been intended that Malaysia would add to its 35 mm twin gun and Skyguards inventory, but manpower and funding pressure appears to have put this idea on hold for the moment. The original plan called for the upgrade of existing GDF and Skyguards to the latest standard and the acquisition of a total of 16 GDF guns and 8 Skyguards. There was also the potential to bring the total to 22 new GDF guns and 11 Skyguards. The status of this air defence gun requirement now remains uncertain.

Thales Air Defence has been trying to get an upgrade contract for the Starbursts, for example, through the addition of the Aspic fire control system to automate engagements. Thus far this has not been able to generate momentum, on the other hand, Thales is due to receive an order for up to 80 Starburst missiles for war stocks this year. Before leaving the subject of air defence, there have been efforts to upgrade Malaysia's air defence ground environment. In 1989, under Project Kawal, Marconi (now Alenia Marconi Systems) received a contract to supply two Martello L-band (Nato D-band) surveillance radars, two sector operations centres and voice and data communications equipment. A second contract, in 1996, saw AMS supply two further Martello radars and supporting equipment. In December 2001 it was announced that AMS had won a 60 million [euro] contract to supply Malaysia with a Rat 31DL 3D L-band radar to be located at Butterworth, a sector operations and logistical support centre. According to Alenia Marconi Systems, this new radar will be integrated with the existing systems through data fusion.

There still remain a number of older Hughes radars in Malaysian service. These cannot be effectively upgraded and Alenia Marconi Systems is said to be looking to replace these units with new Rat 31DL sets. Another programme is the operational requirement generated by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (Rmaf) for an airborne early warning and control aircraft. An AEW&C capability has long interested the Rmaf and it would be the natural addition to existing efforts to upgrade the air defence ground environment. However, the acquisition of this capability would require an additional programme to provide an integrated air defence system capable of managing the data from both airborne and ground sensors, plus appropriate command and control capabilities.

The Mighty Pen

A number of other contracts were awarded, as well as the completion of `Letters of Acceptance' (LoA), the last stage prior to the signature of a final contract in Malaysia. Bridging connected two LoA signatures. The first was between the Malaysian Ministry of Defence, Vickers Defence Systems and Amalgamated Metal Builders of Malaysia to cover the supply of three 52-metre BR90 bridge sets, valued at $ 29.8 million. This is the first export contract for the British Army bridging system. AMB will be responsible for logistic support and will build bridge components. Composite Technologies Research Malaysia will build the composite material launch rails.

The other bridging LoA was between the Ministry of Defence, CNIM of France and Pesaka Astana. Three CNIM tactical floating bridges, worth $ 28.13 million, are due to be supplied and Pesaka Astana is to design and build a transportation system.

The Rmaf is to receive an Operational Flight Trainer ordered to the tune of $14.73 million from Sapura Technologies for its fleet of six IPTN CN235-220M transport aircraft. The simulator will be built to US Federal Aviation Administration standards. Syarikat Malaysia Explosives (SME) Ordnance received a contract worth $ 22.34 million for an additional batch of 24,000 Steyr AUG assault rifles, which it manufactures under licence. SME Ordnance also signed a memorandum of understanding with Nammo of Norway, which should generate a contract valued at $ 20.44 million, covering the procurement of an initial batch of 25 x 137 mm MPM multi-purpose and APFSDS-T anti-armour ammunition and the transfer of technology to allow local production. These 25 x 137 mm rounds are to be used in the M242 Bushmaster cannon on Malaysian Army ACV 300 armoured vehicles (see below).

Alenia Marconi Systems chalked up a $14.39 million contract to upgrade the command systems on two Royal Malaysian Navy corvettes, KD Laksamana Hang Nadim (134) and KD Laksamana Tun Abdul Jamil (135). These two units, originally named Khalid ibn al Walid and Saad ibn abi Wakkad, were built by Fincantieri for the Iraqi Navy and were embargoed in 1991. They remained at Muggiano in Italy and were purchased by the RMN in October 1995. After being refitted they entered service in July 1997. The service also purchased the two other corvettes in this class, these had a more extensive refit, which saw the IPN-10 command systems replaced by the IPN-S system. This new contract brings Hang Nadim and Tun Abdul Jamil up to the same command system standard.

Upcoming Programmes

The contracts and letters of acceptance announced at DSA amounted to around $ 493.98 million, but these represent less than half of what Malaysia could spend on defence modernisation in 2002. Prior to the exhibition, Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Defence Minister, Najib Tun Razak, had visited Poland and Russia as part of a European diplomatic tour; key issues on the agenda were a number of defence procurement programmes.

The visit to Poland focused on the resolution of the long-standing Malaysian Army requirement for a tank. Malaysia had developed an operational requirement for an armoured regiment, support vehicles plus training tanks, and had considered offerings from ZTS Martin of Slovakia, Uralvagonzavod of Russia, Kharkov Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau of the Ukraine, OTO Iveco of Italy, VDS of the United Kingdom and Hagglunds of Sweden amongst others. A decision was taken to opt for the PT-91 Tvardy (Hard) tank manufactured by Bumar-Labedy in Gliwice, Poland.

The PT-91 is a development of the Soviet-era T-72M1 tank that was manufactured under licence by Bumar-Labedy and designed to meet the requirements of the Polish Army for improved protection, mobility and fire power. Malaysia will be acquiring an upgraded version of the tank featuring a Sagem Savan 15 fire control system and a new Polish 735 kW engine. Some 70 vehicles, including bridge layer and armoured recovery variants, are to be acquired and Bumar-Labedy is to supply a full training package. Support of the tanks in Malaysia will be the responsibility of Malaysian Mining Corporation Defence. During the Malaysian visit to Poland, the Polish Defence Minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, was quoted as saying that the PT-91 contract with Malaysia could have a value in the region of $ 300 million.

The state visit to Russia had an important defence agenda, apart from the air defence systems discussed above, as Russia was keen to demonstrate the capabilities of the Sukhoi Su-30MKM combat aircraft, hence the visit of Dr. Mahathir to the Zhukovsky Flight Test Centre on the outskirts of Moscow. The Su-30MKM is one of the leading contenders, along with the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, for the multi-role long-range fighter requirement. While numerous matters were discussed the only contract to result was the acquisition of ten Mil Mi-17 helicopters.

Filling a similar role to the ACV 300 Adnan (see box) in Malaysia are the 107 Korean Infantry Fighting Vehicles (KIFV) acquired from Daewoo of Korea. These vehicles are now being upgraded with a new powerpack, to resolve problems experienced with the original transmission. The Malaysian Army is evaluating a number of turret weapon systems to add to the firepower of the vehicles, which are currently equipped with a 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun in a wrap-around turret and a secondary 7.62 mm M60 on a pintle mount.

One of the systems being reviewed is the Kongsberg Protech Protector Remote Weapon Station (RWS). 300 Protector RWS have been selected by the US Army for the General Motors Defense/General Dynamics Land Systems Interim Fighting Vehicle. The Norwegian Army uses another variant.

Two main versions of the Protector are available, one mounting M212.7 mm and co-axial 7.62 mm machine guns and the other mounting a General Dynamics Armament Systems Mk 19 grenade launcher. The RWS has day/night sights linked to a fire control system that provides the best ballistic solution for the weapon, once the gunner selects the target. The Malaysian Army is thought to have already purchased some 200 Mk 19s and there is a requirement for an additional 30 systems.

Back on Purchase Track

Malaysia is now definitely back on track with its defence modernisation programmes. With the series of contract awards at DSA coming to over $ 490 million and the additional three major contracts for tanks, submarines and helicopters due this year, Malaysia will have spent well over one billion dollars on new defence acquisitions in one year. This could prove to be the overture for other major programmes, such as combat aircraft, new frigates and helicopters, all of which add up to the fact that Malaysia will continue to be one of the most important defence markets.

Jernas Clenches First Export Order

Known as Rapier Field Standard C in Britain, the MBDA Jernas had a major competitor in Malaysia--the Thales Crotale NG. The deal also constitutes one of the rare significant shorad sales in many years. The arrival of the Jernas will see the Malaysian Army form a new air defence regiment. However, this has already generated manpower concerns in the Malaysian air defence community. Current air defence equipment holdings comprise 48 Thales Air Defence Starburst manpads, 24 Oerlikon Contraves GDF 35 mm twin guns with 12 Skyguard fire control systems and some 30 elderly Bofors 40 mm L/70 guns. The existing equipment comes under the control of a single air defence regiment. In addition there are a number Pakistani Anza manpad systems, a variant of the Chinese HN-5A manufactured by A.O. Khan Research Laboratories in Kahuta. These systems are distributed to certain infantry units. (MBDA)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

ACV 300 Starts to Roll In

Malaysia has started receiving first deliveries of the 211 Armoured Combat Vehicles (ACV) or ACV 300 on order from FNSS Defence Systems of Turkey, with 22 units due to be delivered by November. The vehicles were ordered in August 2000 in a $ 289.47 million contract. The ACV is known as the ACV 300 Adnan in Malaysia and is being acquired as part of a programme to build a combined arms division. Of the 211 vehicles on order, 146 will be built by FNSS in Turkey and DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies will assemble 65 in Malaysia; all vehicles are due for delivery by 2004. 31 vehicles will seat a one-man FNSS Sharpshooter turret mounting a 25 x 137 mm M242 Bushmaster cannon. Other variants include those with a Helio FVT800 turret with a 12.7 mm M2 as well as a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. There will also be command, ambulance, mortar, engineer and repair and recovery variants on tap. (Armada/DS)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Scorpene Battens Down Deal

The quest by the Royal Malaysian Navy to acquire a submarine (SSK) capability had been running for many years. A solution was finally in sight at the time of the exhibition and came to fruition shortly after. For the past two or so years, DCN International had been the leading contender for the programme. The acquisition programme has gone through many changes since its inception, but finally the DCN Scorpene (see also lead photo) swam victoriously to the deal table. Malaysia has ordered two. The Scorpene class is a joint venture between DCN and Izar of Spain (Chile due to receive two units). Earlier this year, it was announced that the Indian Navy had selected the Scorpene class for its Type 75 submarine programme. Under the terms of this $1.8 billion contract, six Scorpene submarines are due to built in India by Mazagon Docks. The decision to acquire new-build submarines will require Malaysia to rapidly assemble a supporting infrastructure and personnel to operate the boats. The task will be made easier by the fact that RMN personnel have previously received limited submarine training in France, Germany and Turkey. However, a full training programme will be required to assemble crew and support personnel if the outline in-service date of the first Scorpene boat in 2007/8 is to be achieved. (DCN)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

And Medium Range from Russia

Russia is also working on interesting Malaysia in a medium-range surface-to-air system in the form of the Ulyanovsk BUK-1M-2 (seen here). In addition, there have been rumours of an effort to sell the 9K331 Tor shorad system, but that would appear to be pointless now that the Jernas has been acquired. There is also the reported effort to sell the Antey-500 system to Malaysia, an export version of the Russian S-300VM system, which has recently been purchased by India.

The Antey-2500 system could not be delivered before 2005 and it would certainly be an expensive system. In terms of capability though, the Antey-500 would be the most sophisticated air defence system in Southeast Asia providing the ability to defend peninsular Malaysia against both air and missile threats, including ballistic missiles. The acquisition of such a system would stretch Malaysian manning capabilities and it would not be an easy system to integrate into the current air defence ground environment, elements of which still need to be upgraded. The Antey-500 would also need close-n defence of its key subsystems and this would require the acquisition of another air defence missile system, in this case the Tor. At this stage, a purchase of the Antey-2500 would seem to be somewhat premature, but the system offers a unique air defence capability and this might yet prove attractive to Malaysia. (Armada/EHB)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

More Mi-17s?

Malaysia has been interested in Mil Mi-17 helicopters for some time, acquiring two Kazan-built examples for fire fighting purposes. However, further plans to purchase and then upgrade Mi-17s for the Combat Search & Rescue (Csar) requirements of the Rmaf came to naught. The announcement by Defence Minister Najib that the Mi-17s are to be acquired as the replacement for the existing Rmaf Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri transport helicopter fleet indicates that this purchase from Russia is now on track and that it will be the basis for follow-up purchases that could eventually see the Mi-17 fleet grow to 40.

To meet Rmaf requirements the Mi-17s will be subject to fuselage modifications and an upgraded avionics package will be installed. The Air Force is also looking to establish a comprehensive maintenance and support infrastructure for the helicopters, to avoid the spare parts and reliability problems that afflicted its MiG-29N/NUB fleet. The upgraded Mi-17 requirement will attract bids from a number of sources, including a combination of Kazan, BAE Systems and Kelowna Flightcraft of Canada, who announced the upgraded Mi-172 helicopter at the Fidae exhibition in Chile. Another alternative is Airod of Malaysia working with Galileo Avionica of Italy. (Kazan)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Big Barrel Fight

Artillery systems are another area of interest to the Malaysian Army, which recently ordered a regiment of G5 155 mm howitzers-22 guns--from Denel in South Africa and 18 Astros II multiple rocket launcher systems from Avibras in Brazil. There is still a requirement to acquire at least another two regiments artillery, some self-propelled, and this is the requirement that Denel with the G6 and T5-2000 and Giat with the Caesar are seeking to meet. This contest continues, but new complexity has been added to the mix after Saudi Arabia offered Malaysia surplus FH-70 155 mm howitzers, 40, of which are in store. The Caesar shown here is in the final French Army armoured configuration (an involuntary switch of pictures showed the development item tested by Malaysia in our recent Complete Guide on "World Defence Requirements", page 20). Technically, one of the Caesar's strengths is the unique Fast-Hit command system that is included. Financially, the Saudi offer might present a way to meet at least part of the Malaysian artillery requirement at a low cost, assuming the guns can be brought to a serviceable condition (Malaysia also has 12 FH-70 guns, but these are also in store). While the Saudi offer is being considered, it will slow progress on new artillery acquisitions. (Giat)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]