By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
The Malaysian government seeks to turn the country into Southeast Asia's testing ground for drones, where international companies will design and produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for carrying out deliveries and to provide other unique services. [1] Considering these unmanned ambitions, it is perhaps all the more surprising that the Malaysian government has invested little in the acquisition of UAVs for its armed forces, despite the presence of an indigenous drone industry that has come up with several different military-grade drone designs since the early 2000s.
Only one of these types was to eventually enter service with the Malaysian Armed Forces in 2008: the Aludra Mk.1. Despite the reported sale of three UAVs to Thailand in 2009, Malaysian UAVs are not known to have found any commercial success abroad. [2] With the retirement of the Aludra Mk.1 around the turn of the last decade, Malaysia now only operates a number of ScanEagle 2s donated by the U.S., the Austrian S-100 and Spanish Fulmar X, and several commercially-obtainable Chinese VTOL drones – a meagre inventory even for Southeast Asian standards. [3]
Only the ScanEagle 2s are actually operated by the Malaysian Armed Forces, with the Fulmar X having entered service with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Coast Guard) while the Chinese VTOL drone types see use with the Police Air Wing. This hodgepodge of UAVs is a far cry from the inventory once envisioned during Malaysia's unmanned ambitions at the start of the millenium, when the country was presented with the unique opportunity of becoming a South Asian giant in the design and production of UAVs.
In 2001, CTRM unveiled an optionally-piloted UAV designated as the Eagle ARV, which was based on the Australian Eagle 150B light aircraft. This project was launched in collaboration with the British BAE Systems. [4] Although it is sometimes reported that one system, consisting of three drones and a ground station, was purchased by Malaysia for aerial surveillance and environmental control, the Eagle ARV eventually failed to attract any customers. A lack of interest from the Malaysian Armed Forces has hampered nearly all UAV designs coming out of the country since.
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The Eagle ARV in front of a Royal Malaysian Air Force F/A-18D 'Hornet'. Note the FLIR under the Eagle's fuselage. |
In the years that followed, several more Malaysian UAV designs would see the light of day. However, faced with a government and military that placed little value in the operations of UAVs, these too failed to attract any domestic orders. In fact, in 2009, the Malaysian Sapura UAV company preferred to assemble its UAVs in Australia rather than in Malaysia, as setting up a production line in Malaysia was only feasible if the Malaysian government would actually start placing orders for the unmanned systems, which it never did. [2]
The Aludra Mk.1 by CTRM would thus end up as the only indigenous drone type acquired by the Malaysian Armed Forces, although it remains uncertain whether the limited numbers that entered service were actually purchased or just leased from the manufacturer. The Aludra Mk.1, along with leased ScanEagle UAVs, first saw operational use in 2013 during counterterrorism operations in Sabah State, Borneo. [5] A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) was also developed for the Aludra Mk.1, although this does not appear to have have found its way to operational use in Malaysia. [6]
After the retirement of the Aludra Mk.1 around the turn of the last decade, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) issued a tender for the provision of a new Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) in May 2020. Malaysian companies are currently offering two drone types for this requirement, these being the Aludra Camar by CRTM (now Deftech Aviation) and the Deftech Wangsa developed in collaboration with Leonardo of Italy. The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) for its part was to receive twelve donated ScanEagle 2 UAVs from the United States in May 2020. [7] [8]
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The Deftech Wangsa seen here with part of its nose removed. |
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Deftech's UAV lineup. The Multirotor UAVs and the VTOL-0x series of UAVs are commercially-available Chinese-made drones. |
Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Operational / On Order
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Fulmar X [2017] (Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. Operated from ships) - Image may be NSFW.
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ScanEagle 2 [2020] (Royal Malaysian Navy) - Image may be NSFW.
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TAI Anka [On Order] (Royal Malaysian Air Force)
VTOL Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Operational
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DJI Matrice 210 [2020] (Malaysian Army) - Image may be NSFW.
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DJI Matrice 300 RTK [2020] (Operated by Deftech on behalf of the Malaysian Armed Forces) - Image may be NSFW.
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DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced [2020] (Police Air Wing) - Image may be NSFW.
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Schiebel Camcopter S-100 [2016] (Defence Intelligence Staff Division) - Image may be NSFW.
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Skyranger R60 [2020] (Police Air Wing. On loan)
Target Drones- Operational
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ALBA (Operated by Aerotree on behalf of the Malaysian Armed Forces) - Image may be NSFW.
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SCRAB II (Operated by Aerotree on behalf of the Malaysian Armed Forces) - Image may be NSFW.
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Banshee (Operated by Aerotree on behalf of the Malaysian Armed Forces)
Indigenous Fixed-Wing UAVs (Prototypes)
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CTRM Eagle ARV [2001] (Optionally piloted) (Did not enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM ''RC-UAV'' [2003] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Eagle SR-1 [2015] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Aludra SR-10 [2015] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Aludra Camar [2017] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Aludra Mk.5 ''UAV RS'' [2018] (Has yet to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Aludra EE [2017] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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Sapura CyberWraith (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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Sapura CyberEye (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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Sapura CyberEye II (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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UST Nyamok [2004] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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SCS/UST Nyamok 2.0 (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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Deftech Aviation Nyamok 3.0 (Not meant to enter service) (Not yet seen) - Image may be NSFW.
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Deftech Wangsa (Not meant to enter service) (Designed in collaboration with Leonardo)
Indigenous VTOL UAVs (Prototypes)
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Sapura CyberShark [2007] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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Sapura CyberQuad (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Intisar 100 [2008] (Not meant to enter service) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Intisar 400 (Not meant to enter service)
Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Retired
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ScanEagle [2013] (Malaysian Army) - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Aludra Mk.1 ''SR-02'' [2008] - Image may be NSFW.
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CTRM Aludra Mk.2 (No image available)
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A Malaysian ScanEagle 2. |
[2] Malaysia Delivery Three UAV to Thailand http://defense-studies.blogspot.com/2009/06/malaysia-delivery-three-uav-to-thailand.html
[3] Covid-19: Malaysia enlists UASs to enforce countermeasures https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/covid-19-malaysia-enlists-uass-to-enforce-countermeasures
[4] Group of Companies Unmanned Systems Technology Sdn Bhd (The UAS) https://www.ctrm.com.my/acomp4_a.php
[5] CAP55: RMAF Looking For Tactical UAS http://worldwardefence.blogspot.com/2020/06/cap55-rmaf-looking-for-tactical-uas.html
[6] A new unmanned aerial vehicle synthetic aperture radar for environmental monitoring https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273269922_A_new_unmanned_aerial_vehicle_synthetic_aperture_radar_for_environmental_monitoring
[7] Malaysia Confirms US Aid Package in Shape of Aerial Drones https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/malaysian/malaysia-china-06072019180647.html
[8] Royal Malaysian Navy took delivery of six ScanEagle UAV https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/05/royal-malaysian-navy-took-delivery-of-six-scaneagle-uav/
[9] Malaysian Firms Manufacture Flighty MALE http://www.satnews.com/story.php?number=406237562
[10] Turkish defense firm's UAV exports to Malaysia discussed at trade fair https://www.dailysabah.com/defense/2018/04/18/turkish-defense-firms-uav-exports-to-malaysia-discussed-at-trade-fair
[11] TUSAŞ Visits Malaysia to Promote ANKA UAV https://www.turdef.com/Article/tusas-visits-malaysia-to-promote-anka-uav/716
[12] More Details on LCA and UAV RFI https://www.malaysiandefence.com/more-details-on-lca-and-uav-rfi/[13] Malaysia to buy P-27A and TAI Anka https://alert5.com/2022/10/10/malaysia-to-buy-p-27a-and-tai-anka/
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