His comments came after Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on Saturday that the United States would consider allowing the sale of a replacement NSM system to Malaysia.
PETALING JAYA: Norway’s revocation of export licences for the Kongsberg naval strike missile system has prompted fresh questions about whether local defence firms have a genuine path into highervalue roles in major procurement contracts.
Nizra Industries chief executive officer Nik Iruwan Nik Izani said Malaysia had long spoken about localisation, transfer of technology and vendor development, but the challenge remained in execution, continuity and actual outcomes.
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“Realistically, local vendors are still mostly placed as support suppliers, subcontractors or implementation partners.
“Malaysia needs to move towards a model where local companies are given the opportunity to become system developers, system integrators, software owners and sustainment partners,” he told theSun.
Iruwan said local vendors also faced difficulty turning demonstrations into real contracts, as early investment in prototypes, testing and certification often had to be made without guaranteed procurement.
“Many local vendors are given opportunities for demonstrations or proof-of-concept, but the pathway from demonstration to actual deployment remains difficult.
“The challenge usually involves track record, financing, user confidence, procurement structure and preference for systems that are already established internationally.
“For us, the solution is to create a more practical pathway; demonstration, operational trial, limited deployment and scaled procurement.
“Countries that succeeded in developing their local defence industries did not depend only on policy or intention. They created a clear capability pathway,” he said.
His comments came after Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on Saturday that the United States would consider allowing the sale of a replacement NSM system to Malaysia.
On May 14, Norway revoked the export licences for the Kongsbergmade missile system which was intended for the LCS programme. Project cost rose to RM11.2 billion from the original RM9 billion, despite the number of ships being reduced from six to five.
Defence analysts have told theSun earlier that the setback could affect the LCS’ deterrence role, delay full operational readiness and force Malaysia into costly integration work if a replacement weapon is chosen.
Iruwan said the Norway export block showed that defence planning could be exposed when key capabilities depended heavily on foreign export approvals and geopolitical decisions.
He said Malaysia should continue working with international original equipment manufacturers, but future deals should leave the country with more than delivery of the finished asset.
“Malaysia still needs cooperation with international original equipment manufacturers. However, the country must also build more sovereign capability, especially in integration, software, sustainment, operations and control of critical systems,” he said.
Iruwan also stressed that major defence purchases should leave Malaysia with lasting operational and technical control, not merely ownership of the asset.
“In modern defence, the advantage is not only about owning the best platform, but having control over the capability that supports operations.
“The future of Malaysia’s defence must move towards the model of partner globally, build locally and control strategically,” he said.
Iruwan said the issue was not a lack of local potential, but whether that potential could be translated into capability that existed in practice, could be used operationally and remained sustainable.
However, he said the country could begin by strengthening higher-value areas such as system design, software, AI, command-andcontrol, systems integration, testing, training and sustainment.
“The long-term goal is not to produce everything ourselves, but to ensure Malaysia has the knowledge, integration capability and strategic control over critical capability,” added Iruwan.
