KUALA LUMPUR – The Defence Ministry (Mindef) is in the midst of procuring two maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) from Italy that can detect the presence of submarines in the South China Sea area, especially in the Sabah region.
Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said this is because the Malaysian Armed Forces’ long-range radar (LRR) at the Labuan Naval Air Base was unable to detect the submarine and could only monitor the airspace, which is now more focused on the South China Sea, which has been “busy” recently.
“We are also in the process of procuring another LRR, which has been approved by the National Security Council, to be placed in Pulau Layang-layang because the ones in Labuan cannot see that far.”
“So, we need another radar to be placed in Pulau Layang-layang so that we can see beyond our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) area,” he said in response to Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah), who asked about the capability of the LRR at the Labuan Naval Air Base during today’s Dewan Rakyat sitting.
Meanwhile, Mohamad said the Radar Coastal Surveillance System (CSS) has been installed at 13 locations covering the Kudat coast up to Tawau to monitor Sabah’s east coast.
“Currently, there are eight radars that were just upgraded on September 16 involving the CSS 1206 radar. However, there are five Aesa Spexer 2000 CSS radars that have suffered damage and are not economical to repair.
“All of the CSS Aesa Spexer 2000 radar equipment has been removed for disposal. Mindef has also identified the need to completely cover the gaps in the area by purchasing six (five replacements and one addition) new gap filler radars,” he said.
The minister added that the total allocation for the acquisition of the six radars is RM57 million, which will be obtained under the 13th Malaysia Plan. – October 30, 2023