The Malaysian Minister of Defence (Kementerian Pertahanan) issued two tenders on 21 March for domestic companies to supply 18 medium-range antitank guided missile(ATGM) for the Malaysian Army and 119 general-service vehicles for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The Malaysian Army had previously requested additional Metis-M systems to replace 24 launchers purchased in 2001, but the Malaysian Finance Ministry rejected this following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shephard Media reported that the antitank guided missile tender appears geared towards procuring a system used by NATO forces, as tender specifications include requirements for NATO stock numbers.
In the bid document, MINDEF said an ATGM system includes a launching tube/canister, a missile, an observation and launching unit (OLU), a tripod, and a missile container. The launching tube must receive and react to the task command from the OLU to ignite the ejection motor and eject the missile. The missile should not exceed a length of 1,200 mm and a diameter of 130 mm. The missile must be equipped with the capability to defeat explosive reactive armour (ERA) and the main armour plate of at least 900 mm rolled homogeneous armour (RHA). The missile must produce sufficient residual energy for the behind armour effect (BAE) to inflict casualty to crew and vehicles. The ATGM’s probability of a hit should not be less than 90% and should have a top and direct attack mode.
The Metis-M bought in 2001, some 24 launchers and 100 missiles. The same G-Wagens are also armed with the automatic grenade launchers and heavy machine guns in the same units. The current antitank guided missiles carriers are the Mercedes G-Wagens, some procured CBU by Deftech and some CKDed by the same company in late 1990s. The same G-Wagens are also armed with the automatic grenade launchers and heavy machine guns in the same units. The Metis-M system adds to the usual positive qualities of a man-portable anti-tank guided missile with significant improvements in range, accuracy and lethality. This manportable system can be carried by its crew in compact packs over any distance and over a wide variety of terrain types, including stream crossing.
The 9K115-2 Metis-M (NATO reporting name AT-13 Saxhorn-2) is a Russian portable anti-tank guided missile system. “9K115-2” is the GRAU designation of the missile system. The Metis-M1 is the latest upgraded variant of Metis-M.[5] The system is designed to augment the combat power of company-level motorized units. The three-man crew carries personal weapons and an ammunition load of five missiles. One crew member carries a pack with a missile-loaded launcher, which considerably reduces the time of fire preparation and allows the crew to engage targets whilst moving. In the event of sudden appearance of a target, the operator can fire from the shoulder with the launcher rested against a local object. The two other crew members each carry a pack with two missiles.
