PETALING JAYA: Airbus has reaffirmed that Malaysia is an important market for its military helicopters, defence and Space businesses, and expressed its commitment to strengthening its long-standing local presence.
In a media briefing at the Asia Defence Services Exhibition in Kuala Kumpur today, Airbus executives highlighted that Malaysia is a key customer base for the company across the commercial aircraft, helicopter, defence, and space product lines.
They said Airbus, as a strategic partner to Malaysia, has developed extensive and strong industrial cooperation that brought multiple benefits to the local economy.
The aerospace manufacturer is looking forward to deepening existing partnerships and investments in the local ecosystem, which includes investing in a third helicopter full flight simulator in Subang, with plans to start operations in 2026, said the executives.
In recognition of an uptick in Malaysia’s demand for new helicopter assets to strengthen its national defence and security, they said Airbus is positioning its capabilities to support this growth.
“This is where the combat-proven, multipurpose H225Ms can perform a wide range of mission requirements including special operations, combat search and rescue/search and rescue, 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,” they said.
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 helicopter is an ideal solution to meet those needs, said executives.
They said the model has gained popularity worldwide, with more than 1,500 of them in service, out of which about 200 are operated by 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 (a medium tactical transport aircraft) can play a complementary role to the A400M.
On space, Airbus’ long-standing partnership with the Malaysian Space Agency 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, which 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, 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 Airbus Asia-Pacific president Anand Stanley.
