Importance of a Strong Indigenous Defence Industry for National Sovereignty

by Danny Liew Shan Lee

In discussing the defence capabilities of a nation, the most favourite comparison method is of the nation’s defence assets or OrBat (for Order of Battle). Today, we are beginning to see the proliferation of indigenously produced combat assets being used by the Malaysian Armed Forces, from our NGPV to Adnan AIFV.

Introduction of indigenously produced combat assets are a step forward towards creating a self-reliant military capable of defending the nation’s sovereignty. However, these procurements had been dogged by several scandals that had brought disrepute to the local defence industry. This had brought calls to the MAF to obtain combat equipment from reputable international defence equipment suppliers using the off-the-shelf concept.

Before going further, best that we have a look into several scandals that had brought disrepute to the industry.

Kedah class NGPV KD Selangor (Pennant No 176) as seen during the Navy Day 2014 in Lumut.  Photo courtesy of MalDef group.

Kuasa Udara Kuasa Negara - Masa Hadapan TUDM

Oleh Danny Liew Shan Lee

Kemerdekaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu pada 31 Ogos 1957 memperlihatkan perlunya sebuah angkatan tentera yang mantap bagi negara baru tersebut bagi menghadapi ancaman anasir dalam dan luar negara.  Bagi mencapai impian ini, cabang perkhidmatan udara diperkenalkan pada 2 Jun 1958, dan dinamakan sebagai Tentera Udara Diraja Persekutuan (nama ini diubah menjadi Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia, atau singkatannya TUDM,  apabila Persekutuan Malaysia ditubuhkan pada 16 September 1963).

Sebagai cabang perkhidmatan ketenteraan yang termuda dalam Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM), TUDM telah melalui perubahan ketara dari segi kekuatan ofensif dan defensif.  Daripada sebuah ketumbukan udara yang hanya memiliki sebuah pesawat pengangkut jenis Twin Pioneer buatan Scottish Aviation, ke sebuah ketumbukan udara yang bersifat sokongan kepada usaha counter-insurgency (COIN) warfare, dan kini, sebuah ketumbukan udara yang mampu melakukan serangan berkejituan tinggi (precision strike).