Thales announced on 21 April, at the DSA 2026 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, that it would be establishing a local assembly line in Malaysia for its new-generation Synaps VHF/V.
Thales is doing so in conjunction with local company Advanced Defence Systems (ADS). Thales once cooperated with Sapura, but ADS is now its partner of choice.
There are three lines of effort by the partners. The first is the creation of a production facility for Synaps radios in Segamat, Johor. Thales stated, “This initiative will further entrench Thales’ industrial activities in the country, with the transfer of expertise and building blocks that will enable the future assembly of Synaps radios in the country.”
The partners expect some 1,000 Synaps software-defined radios to be assembled there over the coming six years. They will be built to Malaysian specifications.
The second development relates to more than 100 new radios to be delivered to the Malaysian Army to support its acquisition of self-propelled howitzers. At the time of the announcement, this truck-mounted howitzer programme was on the verge of being revealed.
The package includes VHF 9315, HF XL, Synaps-H and SquadNet radios. The European company noted: “This project marks the first introduction of Synaps-H and SquadNet in Malaysia, enabling heightened coordination with various frontline units of the battlefield.”
Simultaneously, Thales will offer its battle management system (BMS) and radios for the army’s AV4 armoured vehicles, these being platforms based on the Chaiseri First Win.
The Malaysian Army has authorised Thales to help develop a proof-of-concept for this effort to modernise the AV4 fleet with a new BMS and radios.
Thirdly, Thales is to supply 16 TRA 6036 airborne radios for installation in Royal Malaysian Air Force helicopters leased from Weststar. The company shared: “This marks Thales’ first deployment of airborne radios in Malaysia, enabling secure, reliable and interoperable communications amongst multiple forces.”
Remarking on these contracts, Florian Riou, Country Director, Thales in Malaysia, said: “Being able to deepen our industrial footprint with local assembly is testament to the trust that the Malaysian authorities and end-users have in our products. With the rise in asymmetric threats, interoperability for missions in the sky or on land is critical.”
Riou added, “These agreements strengthen our commitment to Malaysia, and I look forward to extending our support and technologies to the Malaysian Armed Forces as they modernise in the years to come.”
At DSA 2026, Thales was also promoting its Skydefender that it launched last month. Skydefender is a multi-layer, multi-domain integrated air and missile defence system that protects against air threats. It integrates sensors and effectors with an open-architecture command-and-control system.
A company representative said there is Asian interest in Skydefender, and it is particularly applicable since many regional countries operate disparate air defence systems and sensors that need to be better integrated.
by Gordon Arthur
