Malaysia has announced plans to purchase a long-range, high-endurance unmanned aerial system.
Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ikmar Hisham Abdul Aziz informed the People’s Assembly on 2 August 2022 that the tendering process and selection has been completed. MINDEF’s Procurement Committee has certified the selected bidders, which have been forwarded to the Malaysian Ministry of Finance.
Three Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAS, including support equipment, will initially deploy in 2025 and enter service in 2026.
A formal contract has not yet been awarded, but it is understood that Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Anka-S MALE UCAV has attracted strong interest. In fact, TAI has signed a cooperation agreement with DRB-HICOM Defense Technologies (DefTech) in Malaysia, the main supplier of MINDEF. In addition, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob also visited TAI during his recent visit to Turkey.
The value of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in providing continuous surveillance and information gathering to support surveillance area access and respond to potential intrusions has been recognized.
Furthermore, the competence of the Turkish aerospace industry in providing high performance unmanned aerial systems was highlighted in the Ukraine conflict. The Malaysian military is already using the Boeing Insitu Scan Eagle and the locally developed Allied Unmanned Development Aircraft (ALUDRA) Mk 1 tactical unmanned aerial system.
If commissioned, the propeller-driven turbodiesel-powered Anka-S provides an intelligence and surveillance platform with a range of 1,4488 kilometers (900 miles), a flight time of 30 hours and an airspeed of 204 kilometers (127 miles), The ceiling is 9,144 m (30,000 ft). It can accept a variety of IASA payloads, as well as weapons, and has a satellite communication link.
Stephen W. Miller
