Deputy defence minister Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz said the ministry had completed all tender evaluation processes to acquire the unmanned aircraft for use by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to strengthen its defence capability.

He said the ministry’s procurement board had certified the selected tenderers and submitted them to the finance ministry on July 7. The final decision would be known this month.

The maintenance ecosystem would be implemented after the expiry of the warranty period from the original equipment manufacturer, based on the maintenance concept determined by RMAF.

“The procurement of weaponry, including electronic warfare for these assets, will be carried out in the second and third procurement phases under the 13th and 16th Malaysia Plans,” he said in response to a question from Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman (PAS-Sik).

Ahmad Tarmizi had asked about the status of the tender, procurement, maintenance for the MALE UAS aircraft during the question-and-answer session.

In reply to a supplementary question from Awang Husaini Sahari (PH-Putatan) regarding the objective of acquiring the system, Ikmal said the aircraft would carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the armed forces.

“This MALE UAS asset will be stationed at the Labuan air base to increase the air domain dominance of the RMAF, especially in carrying out surveillance in the South China Sea and the east coast of Sabah,” he said.