Monday March 2, 2009
Army to get rocket launchers
By LESTER KONG
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Army will receive 18 multiple rocket launchers – the Astros II – by the end of the year.
Artillery officers were undergoing operational training, said Army Chief Jen Tan Sri Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin after launching the army’s 76th anniversary celebrations at Kem Perdana Sungai Besi yesterday.
The Astros II were purchased from Avibras Industria Aerospacial International Ltd of Brazil in 2006. The deal was signed by then Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for about RM27mil.
At the anniversary, two young captains made history by being the first women in the army to earn their flight wings.
Kapt Diana Hamdan, 27, from Malacca, and Kapt Siti Nurfarhana Mohd Aminuddin, 26, from Selangor, were officers in the army’s artillery regiments before completing their flight training.
Jen Ismail said the army did not differentiate between gender as long as the officers were able to live up to their tasks and responsibilities.
He added the women would be trained in twin engine flying and instrumentation before returning to their squadron in Kluang, Johor.
From there, they would go for conversion training to fly the army’s Agusta A109 helicopters as co-pilots. On a separate matter, Jen Ismail said the army was committed to sending medical teams to Gaza but needed to wait for the green light from the Government.
Earlier in his address, Jen Ismail said the army aimed to become a first world force by 2020 based on its Army 2: 10 Plus 10 strategic military development plan.
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