Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (center) attends and witness for signing ceremony of Contract Documents, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and the handing over of the Letter of Acceptance (LOA), Letter of Intent (LOI) and Corporate Integrity System Malaysia (CISM) Certificate by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in conjunction of Defence Service Asia (DSA) NATSEC Asia 2024 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 40 signings worth RM7.3bil have been made by the Defence Ministry to improve and upgrade military assets.
The signings were made official at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (NatSec) Asia 2024 exhibition held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin alongside the military’s top leadership including Malaysian Armed Forces chief Jen Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman witnessed the signing ceremony that saw a total of 40 agreements signed.
Of that, 17 were from letters of acceptance, worth RM3.30bil and seven contracts worth RM1.9bil.
A further RM280mil were also authorised from 10 memorandums of understanding.
Among the noticeable incoming assets include 18 Medium Range Anti-Tank Guided Weapons from Turkiye.
Ketech Asia was awarded the contract for the supply, delivery, testing and commissioning of anti-tank guided weapons for the Malaysian Army, worth RM44.5mil.
“These assets will be equipped to the infantry battalion to increase the capability of fire power of the Malaysian Army,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. A letter of intent was also signed with BHIC Submarine Engineering Services Sdn Bhd worth RM1bil.
The letter was for a performance-based contract (PBC) to provide in-service support for the Navy’s Prime Minister class of submarine.
In addition to that, the Royal Malaysian Air Force will also replace its existing Air Surveillance Radar (ASR) and Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems.
“These assets will help the RMAF observe Malaysian airspace to maintain the sovereignty of the nation, and to provide the RMAF Air Traffic Services with the latest state of the art technology,” it said.
Meanwhile contracts have been signed to continue the refit programmes for three Navy ships; KD Jebat, KD Perak and KD Baung.
Three letters of acceptance were signed with Lumut Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, Weldan Marine Services Sdn Bhd and Labuan Shipyard & Engineering Sdn Bhd for the retrofits. Together the signings were worth RM221mil.
“The success of the DSA and Natsec 2024 over the last three days also highlights the symbiotic partnerships between the Defence Ministry, Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and the defence industry as portrayed by today’s MOU and contract signing ceremony,” it said.
The four-day exhibition from May 6 to 9 successfully drew over 1,000 participating companies from more than 60 countries.
