ID :
324864
Wed, 04/16/2014 - 06:19
Auther :

DefTech To Deliver 12 Units Of AV8s To Malaysian Military By Year-End

By Zarul Effendi Razali KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DefTech), a defence arm of DRB-HICOM Bhd, targets to deliver 12 units of its 8x8 armoured-wheeled vehicles (AV8s) to the Malaysian military by year-end. Its Chief Executive Officer, Amril Samsudin, said of the 257 vehicles scheduled to be delivered by 2018, two variants -- IFV 25 and AFV 30 -- out of 12 would start production in June. "One of the variants to be delivered this year has the capability to 'swim'," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Defence Service Asia 2014 (DCA 2014) here Tuesday. Currently, he said, the AV8s were only for the Malaysian military as it has to undergo qualification procedures to ensure the vehicles met the military's requirements. "Then, only we go out (overseas) and do the sales. Until the tests are done, we will not go," he said. Amril, however, said DefTech received contracts from regional countries, like the purchase of nine units of armoured vehicles last year by Timor Leste's armed forces. He said the company was also in discussions with Cambodia and Myanmar ‎on the maintenance, repair and overhaul contracts. He said DSA 2014 was the biggest platform for DefTech to advertise and market its producst as defence companies did not usually advertise in the newspapers or mainstream media. "The only way that we are able to show our products, our capabilities and our capacities is via this type of event," he said. --BERNAMA

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