The primary hurdles extend beyond market competition, involving the need to overcome entrenched perceptions regarding women in highly technical and security-driven fields.
KUALA LUMPUR: A local woman entrepreneur is making significant inroads into one of the country’s most male-dominated industries, following the unveiling of a homegrown high-speed interceptor drone at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security Asia (NATSEC) exhibition 2026.
Shah Maju Global Sdn Bhd director, Syarifah Nur Anissa Syed Shabahar stated that establishing a presence in the security and defence sector has presented a unique set of challenges.
She said that the primary hurdles extend beyond market competition, involving the need to overcome entrenched perceptions regarding women in highly technical and security-driven fields.
“This industry is indeed dominated by men, but that is not a reason to give up. What matters is consistency, technical expertise and the courage to compete,” she said at the company’s booth during the exhibition at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).
Anissa explained that the company has followed a disciplined growth strategy, building its technical capabilities incrementally.
This “step-by-step” approach led to the development of “The Ghost”, a lightweight interceptor drone designed specifically to counter hostile unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threats.
Developed entirely by local engineers, the platform weighs about 650g and can reach speeds of up to 300kph, making it among the fastest locally developed light interception platforms in the domestic market.
Built by a team of five young Malaysian engineers at the company’s research and development facility in Wangsa Maju, the drone was designed for interception missions in response to hostile drone threats.
It has an operating range of between 10km and 15km, can fly up to five kilometres above sea level, and offers flight endurance of up to 15 minutes. The platform can carry an additional load of up to 350g.
Its compact 230mm wheelbase, meanwhile, is aimed at improving aerodynamic efficiency during interception operations.
The project, valued at over RM1 million, has already successfully cleared several flight tests and interception simulations.
The next phase of the project involves secondary trials in collaboration with the National Defence Science and Technology Research Institute (STRIDE). Upon successful completion, the platform will be formally proposed to the Ministry of Defence.
The four-day DSA and NATSEC Asia 2026 exhibition, which concluded today, was held under the theme “Empowering Capability and Resilience Through Technology”, gathering global and domestic industry leaders to showcase the future of security.
