Malaysia and Pakistan to Jointly Manufacture Tactical UAV and Satellites

30 Januari 2013

Flamingo Tactical UAV from Pakistan (photo : Satuma)

Boost to defence ties with Pakistan

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia welcomes Pakistan's offer to jointly manufacture tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and satellites to boost the local defence industry.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi believes that Pakistan is capable of manufacturing the items on a large scale, which could mutually benefit both nations.

"Pakistan was convincing in terms of producing long-range UAVs, along with other strategic assets and equipment.

"With such offers, Malaysia need not depend solely on a country for such expertise," he told newsmen after receiving a courtesy call from Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne at the former's officer here, yesterday.

Zahid said Khalid had also expressed greater defence cooperation with Malaysia in terms of other areas including exercises, training, education and exchange of officers.

He said the UAVs, which proved an effective eye-in-the-sky to thwart non-traditional threats like piracy, illegal trafficking of goods, people and drugs as well as illegal fishing, could influence and shape maritime security.

Aludra Tactical UAV from Malaysia (photo : Flightglobal)

Malaysia's enforcement agencies have in the last decade begun using UAVs, especially along the Sabah coastline to check on the infiltration of illegal immigrants, smuggling and other maritime border crimes.

Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM) Sdn Bhd and Sapura have jointly designed and manufactured UAVs like the Aludra model, of which more than 15 units have been sold to the Defence Ministry since 2007 for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Both companies are also assisting the ministry to manage the network centric warfare centre in Tawau, Sabah.

Malaysia had in the past two decades launched a series of telecommunication and weather satellites. These include the geostationary Malaysia East Asia Satellites - Measat-1 and -2 launched in 1996, and -3 in 2006 for television on communications. 

Then came Malaysia's first mircro-satellite - Tiung SAT - that was launched in 2000. Nine years later, the high-resolution Malaysian Low Earth Orbit RazakSat was launched.

(Business Times)