Kuala Lumpur, 6 May 2024 – Airbus reaffirms that Malaysia is an important market for its military helicopters, defence and Space businesses, and expresses its commitment to strengthening its long-standing local presence.
Speaking to the media at the Defence Services Asia exhibition this week, Airbus executives highlighted that Malaysia is a key customer base for the company across the commercial aircraft, helicopter, defence, and Space product lines.
As a strategic partner to Malaysia, Airbus has developed extensive and strong industrial cooperation that brought multiple benefits to the local economy.
Airbus’ plans to strengthen partnerships
The aerospace manufacturer is looking forward to deepening existing partnerships and investments in the local ecosystem. This includes investing in a third helicopter full flight simulator in Subang, with a planned operational start in 2026.
In recognition of an uptick in Malaysia’s demand for new helicopter assets to strengthen its national defence and security, Airbus is positioning its capabilities to support this growth.
This is where the combat-proven, multi-purpose H225Ms can perform a wide range of mission requirements including special operations, combat search and rescue/search and rescue (CSAR/SAR), and tactical transport. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is one of the global operators of the H225M with 12 in its fleet, flying on military and humanitarian duties.
With a need for the country to replace some of its older assets in the longer term, especially in parapublic roles such as law enforcement, the H135 is an ideal solution to meet those needs. The model has gained popularity worldwide, with over 1,500 of such helicopters in service, out of which approximately 200 of them are to law enforcement agencies worldwide, including those from Australia and Japan.
Airbus also sees a potential to meet the region’s growing demand for increased capabilities, and a renewal of legacy military transports. This is where the company is well-positioned to offer Malaysia a strong A400M-C295 mixed fleet to support both strategic and tactical requirements.
The A400M is already supporting Malaysia’s strategic airlift needs with four in RMAF’s service, while the C295 can play a complementary role to the A400M, and simultaneously fulfil the tactical airlift needs.
On Space, Airbus’ long-standing partnership with the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) has grown strongly since 1998, covering areas including satellite imagery, systems and services. Malaysia is the only Southeast Asian country with the infrastructure and capacity to receive SPOT, Pléiades and TerraSAR-X telemetry.
Malaysia also has the Airbus-built MEASAT-3b and MEASAT-3d satellites, where they provide broadband speeds in areas with limited or no terrestrial connectivity throughout the country.
On maritime security, the company works with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), where for the past 15 years, the coastal surveillance solution STYRIS has helped to cover critical areas along the Straits of Malacca and East Malaysia region.
“Airbus has had a long and fruitful relationship with various Malaysian stakeholders. As the region’s aerospace sector is set to grow even further, we look forward to increasing our local presence and partnerships,” said Anand Stanley, President Airbus Asia-Pacific.
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