SHAH ALAM: Spexer no more, part 2. Back in June, Malaysian Defence reported that the Defence Ministry issued a tender to dismantle, pack, transport and store the five Spexer radars and its associated equipment at a site to be determined by the Joint Force Headquarters 2 (ATB 2).
The Spexer radars were installed in 2016 (originally manufactured by Airbus, though now it comes under Hensoldt company from Germany) to provide better surveillance for eastern coast of Sabah. It was one of the many initiatives (procurements) made following the 2013 Lahad Datu incident.
The winner of the tender to dismantle the Spexer radars was won by Puncak Teknologi Sdn Bhd, a company with connections with AMP Corporation Sdn Bhd, which provided the maintenance for the Malaysian Sea Surveillance System (SWASLA) under the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). Puncak Teknologi was also the company that won the contract for the Underwater Surveillance System (USS) for the RMN Kota Kinabalu naval base at Teluk Sepanggar. The contract to dismantle the Spexer radars was listed at RM149,000. The contract covers:
Berdasarkan skop perkhidmatan yang disertakan dalam Lampiran Q. Keperluan adalah termasuk penyediaan Riggers, pekerja tambahan ( sekiranya perlu), pembungkusan ( termasuk penyediaan kotak kayu) dan lain-lain termasuk kos perjalanan, penginapan, kos dokumentasi, kos penyediaan tools khas dan lain-lain. (1) Perkhidmatan adalah untuk membuka ( Dismantle), membungkus, mengangkut, menghantar serta menyusun peralatan komponen bagi Radar Spexer di 5 lokasi CSS dan menghantar hingga ke Destinasi Akhir iaitu di Kem Sri Wangsa, Tawau Sabah atau lokasi yang akan dinyatakan dalam SST. (2) Syarikat perlu menyediakan Riggers yang berkeupayaan serta terlatih untuk memanjat dan membuka (Dismantle ) radar serta komponen di 5 lokasi CSS. (3) Lawatan tapak adalah diwajibkan bagi menyertai tawaran sebutharga ini. Details Workscope seperti di Lampiran Q yang disertakan. Syarikat perlu memajukan Lampiran Q lengkap beserta seburharga terperinci.
In the previous post, I speculated that the Spexer radars were being put out of service, at least for the time being. Checks with industry sources confirmed that speculation. What is more interesting is the CSS 1206 – the coastal surveillance radars gifted by the US to Malaysia in 2008 and operational by 2009 – is still operational. Infact at the DSA 2022, System Consultancy Services (SCS), another local company was given the contract to maintain the CSS 1206 for the next three years. Unfortunately, the contract price was not announced.
It must be noted that AMP Corporation had also been one of the companies which had been awarded the maintenance contracts for the CSS 1206 in the past, the other being Zetro Services.
— Malaysian Defence