commentary

Unmanned Aerial and Ground Battle Vehicles and Special Systems Review

SHAH ALAM: Ukraine has seen raging fighting in the country since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The war – called by Russia Special Military Operation – has seen the rise of the machines from unmanned aerial to ground vehicles and special systems. Early in the start of the conflict, […]

commentary

How Much Is That MPA In The Window?

SHAH ALAM: How much is that MPA in the window? Based on the contract announcement made at LIMA 2023, RMAF own MPA costs RM395 million per aircraft. The MPA is of course the Leonardo ATR 72 which is equipped for ASW. The whole contract: Leonardo SPA. RM789.6 million for the […]

commentary

How Much Is That Ship in The Window?

SHAH ALAM: In the release on KD Perkasa, RMN Chief Engineer Rear Admiral Mohd Shaiful Adli Chung stated local shipyard are fully capable of building ships without outside help apart from a full fledge combat management system (CMS). He also said several local design houses, are capable designing ships, especially […]

budget

Rubber Dinghies and Seven Tonne Trucks

SHAH ALAM: Rubber dinghies and seven-tonne trucks. The Armed Forces will be buying an undetermined number of the rubber inflatable boats and seven-tonne trucks for flood rescue operations. The Cabinet has approved an allocation of RM10 million for the Defence Ministry to procure the boats and trucks, Defence Minister DSU […]

commentary

Another Helicopter Tender Part 2

SHAH ALAM: In an earlier posting entitled Another Helicopter Tender, Malaysian Defence wrote about a tender for four helicopters for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency – Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritime Malaysia (MMEA/APMM). The tender was published in June last year and was supposed to close in July but it was later […]

commentary

Planning For Failure

SHAH ALAM: Planning for failure. Even though the current defence minister said that the ministry will abide by the Defence White Paper 2019 (DWP) and its 2021-2025 strategic plan, both documents remained as talking points only. Yes, I understand that the DWP19 document available on the ministry website, is the […]

commentary

Kementah Cancels Five Contracts

SHAH ALAM: The Defence Ministry today announced the cancellation of five contracts for supply, services, and infrastructure projects. It did not name the projects, costs, beneficiaries, and the reason for the cancellation. The ministry in a release said it took serious notice of the statement made by the Prime Minister […]

commentary

Extra Bumps On RMN Submarines

SHAH ALAM: It appears that both KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and KD Tun Abdul Razak , the two Perdana class submarines – were equipped with new equipment during their major refit a few years back. From the post on KD TAR refit: By all accounts – a refit or overhaul […]

commentary

All Is Well

SHAH ALAM: All is well. Despite the confidence of the Defence Minister DSU Mohamad Hasan that the first LCS – Maharaja Lela – will be ready by late 2024, there are indications that it will not. The indications came from Mohamad himself, when he spoke to the media on January […]

commentary

Commissioning Just Before LIMA?

SHAH ALAM: It appears that the first MMEA OPV – OPV Tun Fatimah – is expected to be commissioned just before LIMA 23, this May. This was likely following the visit of Home Minister DS Shaifuddin Nasution to TH Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd (THHE) shipyard at Pulau Indah in Klang […]