DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd, officially known as DEFTECH, is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n defence contractor involved in the development, manufacture, supply, deliver and commissioning of armoured, non-armoured, and logistic

vehicles A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

for the military and homeland security. DEFTECH is also a supplier of specialised vehicles and commercial buses. DEFTECH takes a major milestone in

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

and

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controll ...

industry after the acquisition of

Composites Technology Research Malaysia Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM) is a Malaysian high technology based industrial company that involved in the aerospace and composites industries. The company's main products includes UAV, composites aerostructure, satc ...

(CTRM). DEFTECH divisions includes DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DEFTECH), Defence Services Sdn Bhd (DSSB), DEFTECH Systems Integration (DSI) , DEFTECH Unmanned Systems (DUS) and DEFTECH Aviation (DAV).

History

On 17 October 1996, DefTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of

DRB-HICOM DRB-HICOM Berhad () is one of Malaysia's leading corporations, involved in the automotive manufacturing, assembly and distribution industry through its involvement in the passenger car and four wheel drive vehicle market segment, the national t ...

was incorporated to contribute towards Malaysia's industrialisation and self-reliant defence aspirations. In 2001, DefTech established its armoured vehicle production in Pekan,

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

at a cost of RM70 million to prepare for the collaboration with

FNSS FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş. ( en, FNSS Defence Systems A.Ş.) is a Turkish defense manufacturer founded in 1988. It is owned 51% by Nurol Holding of Turkey and 49% by British–American firm BAE Systems Inc., and operates facilities located i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

to manufacture and supply the ACV-300 Adnan family of vehicles to the Ministry of Defence. The successful partnership translated into additional order for the vehicles. Between 2011 and 2014, DefTech spent 500 million ringgit to upgrade its infrastructure, equipment and manpower to prepare for the development and production of the AV8 Gempita. In 2014, DefTech acquired

under a multi million worth contract.

Facilities and capabilities

Engineering Division and Corporate HQ

DefTech's corporate headquarters are located in a purpose-built office complex in Section 15

Shah Alam Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

. It is collocated in the same area as DefTech's Engineering Division. In June 2004, Deftech established its Engineering Division

DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DEFTECH)

The headquarters located at

while the assembly plant is located at Pekan,

, in 2001 under ACV-300 Adnan manufacture program. The Plant is situated on a 25.6-acre site and has a covered work area of approximately 180,000 sq feet. The plant is manufactures of all armoured vehicles and was upgraded in 2014 to prepare for the production of the AV8 Gempita.

Defence Services

DSSB is a fully owned subsidiary of DefTech and is located in

Nilai Nilai is a town located in Seremban District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, close to the border with Selangor. It is the northern suburb within the Seremban metropolitan area. Due to its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it ...

Industrial Estate, Negeri Sembilan where it has a dedicated plant equipped to cater for the 3rd and 4th Line Maintenance of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

's fleet of armoured vehicles. The workshop is responsible for producing the turrets for the AV8 Gempita.

DefTech Systems Integration

Formerly known as CTRM Systems Integration. Incorporated in 2010 to develop Malaysian integration capabilities. The main course of this division is to designing, developing and integrating the systems and provided engineering and repairing of electronic devices.

DefTech Unmanned Systems

Formerly known as Unmanned Systems Technology under CTRM. Incorporated in 2007 and offers a wide range of unmanned aerial vehicle products and services.

DefTech Aviation

DefTech Aviation focus on aerospace and composites technology for aircraft. This division also provides maintenance, repair and overhaul for the aircraft such as Malaysian Army AW109 helicopter, Royal Malaysia Police Cessna 208 fixed wing aircraft and other military and commercial aircraft.

Products

Military

The DEFTECH ''AV4'' is a four-wheeled light armoured vehicle manufactured by DEFTECH in compliance with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

standards under license from Chaiseri of Thailand. The vehicle has a modular design.

DefTech AV4 (4x4)

RG34-ligte pantservoertuig, b, Waterkloof Lugmagbasis

As Malaysia's sole armoured vehicle manufacturing company at that time, DefTech was involved in the development of the first generation of AV4 based on

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n-designed RG-34

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States Armed Forces, United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IE ...

s (formerly known as Iguana FV4). One prototype was unveiled in 2006 but the procurement program of about 200 vehicles was cancelled.

DefTech LTV (4x4)

In 2021, DefTech launched its first 4x4 light tactical vehicle. This Humvee-like vehicle consisted of various configuration for the various mission. One of the notable version of the DefTech LTV is the 4x4 ambulance that planned to be uses by Malaysia Civil Defence Force and other health agencies of Malaysia.

HICOM Handalan Truck (4x4)

The HICOM Handalan trucks are multi-purpose

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

trucks made by DefTech for military purposes. The truck is one of DefTech's most produced designs, with 2,260 units produced for the Ministry of Defence across two variants, as well as 115 units for the

Royal Brunei Armed Forces The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); ms, Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei, (ABDB), is the collective term for the military forces of the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. They consist of the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF), the Royal Brunei ...

and 6 units for the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

Civilian

In 2010, DEFTECH won a contract to deliver 150 buses to

Prasarana Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) (English: Malaysian Infrastructure Limited) is a 100% government-owned company which was set up by Ministry of Finance (Malaysia) as a corporate body established under the Minister of Finance (Incorporation ...

, Malaysia's public transport operator.

References

External links

Official Website (Archive)
{{in lang, en Bus manufacturers of Malaysia Military vehicle manufacturers Defense companies of Malaysia Companies based in Shah Alam Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1996 1996 establishments in Malaysia Privately held companies of Malaysia Truck manufacturers of Malaysia