KUALA LUMPUR, 30 DEC – The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will have superior situational awareness overlooking the South China Sea, with the acquisition of a GM400α long range radar from Thales of France.
The long-range air defence radar will be located at a new RMAF base at Bintulu Airport, Sarawak to monitor the airspace over East Malaysia’s coastal waters and the nation’s 200-nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Defence Ministry will construct a new RMAF base at Bintulu Airport, to complement a new Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Region 4 headquarters on a 200-acre area in the Samalaju Industrial Park at Tanjung Bogam.
At the same time, the ministry is also looking to relocate the Army’s 31st Malaysian Infantry Brigade headquarters, Border Regiment and border control posts from the commercial area in Kidurong.
These assets, would over time, bolster Malaysian air space, waters and ground terrain against the constant multitude of external threats and conflicts – providing superior situational awareness at all times.
The GM400α is capable of detecting simultaneously targets from fast fighter jets, missiles, hovering helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).
Former Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (who is now the Foreign Minister) had revealed that Bintulu was a strategic location near the Kasawari gas field and Beting Patinggi Ali (Luconia Shoal) in Malaysia’s EEZ off the South China Sea.
“It is crucial to strengthen our country’s waters which are frequently intruded upon by foreign vessels.
“Currently, any monitoring and security control of the waters at Beting Patinggi Ali and the country’s EEZ in the South China Sea are conducted using RMN assets from the Kota Kinabalu Base in Teluk Sepanggar, Sabah.
“At a speed of 12 knots, RMN ships from Teluk Sepanggar would take 19 hours to reach Beting Patinggi Ali, compared to just nine hours from Bintulu at the same speed,” Mohamad said.
Beting Patinggi Ali is located 84 nautical miles (155km) from the coast of Miri specifically at Tanjung Baram, Sarawak.
Together with Beting Raja Jarom (Luconia Breaker), both are abundantly rich in oil and gas resources worth billions of ringgit.
Beting Pattingi Ali is situated at the southernmost point in the Spratly Islands group which is disputedly claimed by Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and China.
China has laid very strong claims to the whole of the South China Sea (including the Spratlys archipelago) via its ‘nine-dash line’ and often sends its patrol boats to ‘intrude’ into the EEZ of the other countries.
The seabed in the Spratlys holds vast reserves of natural gas and oil, estimated to be worth trillions of dollars.
Mohamad added that the growth of the country’s defence capabilities in northern Sarawak demonstrated the government’s commitment in ensuring that the country’s coastal areas, waters, borders and airspace were always in a state of readiness.
The procurement for the GM400α long range radar was concluded by the recent visit of French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu to Kuala Lumpur.
The radar deal comes with a package that includes a complete station infrastructure including the main buildings, access road, energy, air conditioning, telecommunications, radome and all the associated logistics.
Malaysia reportedly was Thales’ launch customer of the older GM400 version radar.
Defence industry officials revealed that the Thales’ contract followed successful ‘live’ testing to ensure optimal air surveillance and air defence capabilities.
The new radar is said to have five times more processing power, an increase in instrumented range of more than 10 per cent of up to 515km and advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
During Lecornu’s call on Mohamad, the former reaffirmed the centrality of Asean and France as an observer in the framework of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus.
Lecornu agreed on the importance of working together with Malaysia and Asean to maintain the South China Sea as a sea of peace, stability, and trade through continuous and peaceful means.
These were to be carried on in accordance with the universally recognised international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982). They also underlined the importance of stability in the Middle East and reaffirmed their commitment in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) where both Malaysia and France deployed peacekeepers.
Lecornu emphasised the commitment to further enhance the defence cooperation with Malaysia particularly between military-to-military and in the field of defence, science, technology and industry.
He also agreed to launch the negotiation of a ‘Status of Forces Agreement’ and resume the Malaysia-France Defence Joint High Strategic Committee meeting in 2024. – airtimes.my
#AirTimes #Malaysia #Pertahanan #Thales