Thales Wins Long Range Radar Contract

FA-50 firing ASRAAM. MBDA.

LANGKAWI: Thales received the Letter of Intent for the supply of a single long range air surveillance radar for the RMAF at LIMA 2023. The LOI was among the 43 contracts, LOI and Letter of Agreement signed or awarded at the show.

The combined value of the deals is RM10.1 billion, Defence Minister DSU Mohamad Hasan told the media after the ceremony.

Most of it are already well known like the 18 FA-50 bought from Korean Aerospace Industries for RM3.84 billion.

Leonardo also signed the contract to supply 2 MPA for RMAF for RM789 million while the deal for the Anka 2 UAS MALE is pegged at RM423.8 million.

The Black Hawk leasing deal for the PUTD was awarded to Aerotree Sdn Bhd for RM187 million.

Also signed were various spares and maintenance contracts for the Army, RMN and RMAF.

–Malaysian Defence

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36 Comments

  1. Are the purchases done thru GtG? Direct to manufacturer? or still via an agent?

  2. Any insights as to whether LMS2 is still going to be a direct (closed) G-to-G deal, or opened up to other bidders (like HHI and Damen)? Given the Minister’s trip to Turkey yielded nothing and an open tender process will take 3 to 6 months after tender doc issued – its already end of May. Seems like will miss 2027 timeline.

  3. Kel – “Given the Minister’s trip to Turkey yielded nothing”

    What was it expected to “yield”?

    He has discussions on the possibility of a deal but nothing else was expected.

  4. When will be 1st MPA and UAS going to be delivered? How is Lima 2023 compare before Covid?better like Mindef say?

  5. I believe the LMS if still GtoG with Turkiye, will have to wait if Erdogan still president after 2nd round election on May 28th

  6. @ taib

    Ada class sans frills will just be a glorified OPV, same as Kedah class.

  7. With regards to LMS B2, I am pretty sure the Koreans will be more than happy to do a deal if we fail to secure an agreement with the Turks..

  8. Taib – “Am betting we’ll still get the ADA Class corvette sans frills”

    … – “Ada class sans frills will just be a glorified OPV, same as Kedah class.”

    – There is and never was any intention to get a LMS Batch 2 not fully fitted out… As it stands the Batch 2s [as has been explained] Will be fully fitted out; albeit modestly.

    – From the onset the Kedahs were intended to perform various types of secondary roles during times of war: which is why they have a 3D radar; a “obstacle avoidance sonar”; a helo landing system; etc, stuff a “glorified OPV” [whatever it really means] wouldn’t have …

  9. “Ada class sans frills” (hulubalang)
    … because it’s just so like Malaysia to tot up the ‘bean counters’ and try to pare down the ship accessories whilst giving the impression we are still getting the best. Time and again.
    Better be prepared to get smaller 70m corvettes that are much better armed than a 100m vessel with a toy gun! And while the Cabinet is deliberating on the LMS II buys, it should probably ask the Sarawak Museum Director if he could consider selling the Iban war perahus or longboats on display to offset the lack of TLDM warships!

  10. Taib – “… because it’s just so like Malaysia to tot up the ‘bean counters’ and try to pare down the ship accessories whilst giving the impression we are still getting the best”

    Yes it’s part of the political and PR drama we play but as it stands there is political approval too fully fit out the Batch 2s and this is what the RMN has been adamant about. So we can rant all we want and go off tangent but like I said; they will be fully fitted out; albeit modestly.

    The question is when we can actually be in a position to have enough hulls to fully retire the FACs and Laksamanas; when the MCMVs can be replaced and a whole list of other things.

    Taib – ” Better be prepared to get smaller 70m corvettes that are much better armed than a 100m vessel with a toy gun!”

    Do we have any “toy guns”?

    Taib – “t should probably ask the Sarawak Museum Director if he could consider selling the Iban war perahus or longboats on display to offset the lack of TLDM”

    Silly. We’re better off getting Scandinavian builders to replicate Viking longboats: way better seakeeping than any Iban boat.

  11. …just get the Dearsan 76 is what I say. Stretch it out a bit and that can be LMS B2.

  12. @Marhalim
    With the deal signed & sealed, any idea if the LCA/FLIT fleet will comprise solely FA50 or a mix with trainer specific T50?

  13. Some news outlets reported that Tokmat has said there’s won’t be any changes to the local naval shipbuilding policy which is not a suprise since the fa50 itself would be locally assembled.

  14. I prefer if the long range radar purchase being bundled together with mr-sam to minimize or eliminate any integration issues as well as to get overall lower acquisition cost compared to getting them separately

  15. “It will be FA50 in a similar configuration.”
    If so I fear the cost for Batch2 18s will be a harder buy to convince the beancounters or worse stop at just the 18s we will get. For the whole LCA/FLIT fleet it would have been an outlay of RM 8Bil, monies which are harder to come by daily.

  16. “We’re better off getting Scandinavian builders to replicate Viking longboats: way better seakeeping than any Iban boat.”
    Either way also ok wat. After all, some politicians proudly said we’re not at war with anyone so why spend money on something we won’t use in anger.

  17. Marhalim, I’m worried that even the C92 is over budget, let alone the ADA. The C76 stretched to 85m as the requirement may be the only hope..unless something like the Hyundai 1500 Neo satisfies the RMN.

  18. Does the LMS Batch 2 require a hangar? Seems some possible ship models don’t have (e.g. Dearsan) while the Ada class has. Presumably one way of reducing cost is to remove the hangar. Also isn’t the LMS Batch 2 meant to have half the LCS missiles (i.e., 8 VLS, 4 SSM)? I see the Dearsan and Ada class having the same 8×2 VLS and 4×2 SSM configuration as the LCS.

  19. Yes, both the RFIs -the 1st one 70 -85 meter ships and second one 80 to 100 meter ships – call for a ship with a hangar.

  20. Zaft – “since the fa50 itself would be locally assembled”

    14 will undergo part assembly…

    Kel – ” I see the Dearsan and Ada class having the same 8×2 VLS and 4×2 SSM configuration as the LCS”

    I don’t “see” the cash being made available for the class to have a 16 cell VLS [itself inadequate in anything but a low intensity environment] and 8 ASMs.

  21. Dundun – “I prefer if the long range radar purchase being bundled together with mr-sam to minimize or eliminate any integration issues”

    Whatever RMAF operated primary radar we buy will have to be integrated [if not already] to the existing set up but it doesn’t necessarily have to be integrated to the search or acquisition radar of whatever medium range missile system we get which will be operated by the army;GAPU.

  22. A bit disappointed but understandable that Thales is choosen which would increase the cost & complexity of Intergration as we had Taken LM radar as well. This is on top of rumours that Japan too is considering gifting us radar as well.

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