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Vehicles for the Army, March 2024, updated

Cendana Auto Artac Weapon Carriers vehicle. TD picture.

SHAH ALAM: The Army has taken delivery of 43 vehicles on March 6, which were procured in open tenders from 2019 to 2023. The vehicles were officially handed over to Army chief Gen TS Hafizuddeain Jantan at the Garaj 92, 91 Central Vehicle Depot at Kem Batu Kentomen, Kuala Lumpur.

Among the vehicles received are the Command Centre Platform (CCP) together with its prime mover, Light Forward Repair Vehicle (FRT), war dog Rapid Deployment Vehicle (RDV), Aviation Forward Repair Team vehicle and Weapons Carrier – Heavy Machine Gun.

The CCP – the Scania prime mover and the demountable command centre cabin. BTDM

The CCP tender published in September/October 2020 was awarded to Mindmatics Sdn Bhd for an LOA of RM17.7 million. From the pictures published by the Army and Berita Tentera Darat, Mindmatics provided a Scania prime mover to carry the demountable cabin as the command centre platform. It is likely the new CCP will replace or augment the similar equipment used at the brigade level. The current ones used a Deftech Handalan five-tonne truck with a demountable platform.
A close up of the Command Centre Platform at the 2022 Merdeka Day parade. Malaysian Defence.

It is clearly different from the mobile command centre platform (above) shown during the Merdeka parade in 2022.
Mildef Forward Repair Truck. Apart from the crane, it is also fitted with a towing hitch. Mildef picture.

As for FRT and RDV, both contracts were awarded to Mildef International Technologies Sdn Bhd with the LOA of RM5.8 million and RM964,500, respectively. The FRT tender is for 13 vehicles and its five for the RDV.
The rear of the War Dog Rapid Deployment Vehicle. The Army dog unit is based at its combat training centre or Pulada in Ulu Tiram, Johor.

The FRT is based on the Toyota Hilux while the RDV chassis is the Mitsubishi Triton VGT 4X4 vehicles. Both are modified (heavily on the FRT), accordingly to meet the Army requirements. The new FRT will replace the current vehicles which are based on the Land Rovers though it is likely more will need to be procured to completely replaced them.
PUTD Aviation Forward Repair Truck. TD picture.

The Army also received a single AFRT which will be in service with the Army Air Wing or PUTD. The contract for the single vehicle was awarded to Artabara Technik Sdn Bhd for the LOA of RM338,000. Unfortunately, from the pictures posted by the Army, it is unclear what 4X4 vehicle is used for the requirement. It is a Hilux though
Inside the Artac HMG vehicle.

The last vehicles received is a batch of Cendana Auto ARTAC HMG weapons carrier. Cendana Auto won the various tenders to supply 4X4 vehicles to the Army in various variants. The last vehicles delivered to the Army was the SOV and AGL carriers in October last year. Cendana Auto is contracted for 49 Artac (armed tactical ground vehicles -weapon carriers) variants of the vehicles – the AGL, ATGW, HMG and the Gatling gun variants.
The front of the RDV

Although the Army did not give a breakdown of the vehicles delivered, the Defence Ministry in a social media post on March 13 gave the numbers (see below)
A graphic by the Defence Ministry posted on March 13.

The release from BTDM

KUALA LUMPUR: Panglima Tentera Darat (PTD), Jen Tan Sri Dato’ Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan menyempurnakan Majlis Penyerahan Aset Tentera Darat (TD) bertempat di Garaj 92 Depot Kenderaan Pusat (92 DKP), Kem Batu Kentonmen pada 6 Mac 2024.

Aset-aset yang diterima berjumlah 43 unit terdiri daripada Command Center Platform (CCP), Light Forward Repair Vehicle (LFRV), War Dog Rapid Deployment Vehicle, Aviation Forward Repair Team Vehicle dan Kenderaan Pembawa Senjata (KPS) HMG.

Majlis penyerahan ini membuktikan TD sentiasa meningkatkan keupayaan pertahanan dalam menjaga kedaulatan dan keselamatan negara di samping memberikan bantuan terutama semasa negara ditimpa bencana alam.

The Scania prime mover for the CCP.

— Malaysian Defence

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Marhalim Abas: Shah Alam

View Comments (20)

  • Good to see local company like deftech, mildef, weststar, cendana auto & etc competed to supply their services and products to the armed force. Maybe with this scope of nemesis can added the value to their service and product for the sake of quality and innovation.

  • The picture you marked as MILDEF FRT is actually also of the AFRV. The AFRV looks to be based on the Hilux.

    The MILDEF FRT has fancy beadlock (or fake beadlock) wheels. while the AFRV has OE Hilux wheels.
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHY9vdKaoAAY3U9.jpg

    Looks like
    FRT >> Hilux
    AFRV >> Hilux
    RDV >> Triton
    Cendana Auto >> Hilux (it is not Land Cruiser 79 because - it has 8 wheel lug nuts, not 5 like land cruiser; and it uses wishbone front suspension, not axle)
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9-yMiwbsAA87gN.jpg

  • "it is unclear what 4X4 vehicle is used for the requirement"
    Based on the door panel this is most likely a Hilux

    That Scania looks to be a high riding P360 6x4.

    Didnt know we had a need for a Gatling gun carrier. Did they repurpose the Dillons last seen on the A109 LOH?

  • Good enough and getting there whereas piliphines already receiving their guaranis and sabrah and Jokowi witnessing hand over of 50+ vehicles from pindad to TNI AD including harimau tank and pandur

  • Rock "Maybe with this scope of nemesis can added the value to their service and product for the sake of quality and innovation."

    Other than deftech. The others do not have the economic of scale or involvement in commercial business to turn lucrative contracts into investment in capital.

    Most of the lucrative contract profit is likely turn into luxury car, yatch, and mistress rather than another hyundai rotem, ivenco or Renault trucks.

  • @Rock
    "local company like deftech, mildef, weststar, cendana auto & etc competed"
    Is that so? We dont do huge buys on a yearly basis nor do we buy enough quantities to sustain the various players today. Even back when we really only had Deftech for such vehicles it was a struggle to keep giving them contracts to survive. Same goes with SMEO, Airod and others.

    Lets not kid ourselves, it may look nice on paper but what happens when 90% either close down or exit the defence supply business. How many local companies have tried but failed to establish here.

  • Yeah, you were right about that, maintaining defense contractors with small pool of jobs like this is not sustainable in long run, sooner or later they will out of business if no more contracts available to them .Forget about exporting, the way trend is everybody try to develop their own defense industry (at least in S.E.A) just look at Netherlands, they have to aquire new German submarines when local manufacturer is gone and the skill workers due their submarines order are few and far between,unlike U.S or China where they continually build one subs after another to keep defense industry occupied, problems is can we keep up with that?

    • We never did have the capacity actually, we thought we could..

  • Funny thing is even the industry players thought the pie is big enough, so many getting into the fray of supplying now, in 5 years time lets see how many could survive.

  • Yeah, Indonesia P.T Pal is kind of busy churning out Makassar Class ship one after another orders are coming from all over the world , they even try their hand in subs now (good for them), problem with Deftech we don't/can't change APC like cars every five years or so, in the mean time what their employees and managements going to do goyang kaki for years until next order