Malaysia is positioning itself to establish domestic rocket production capabilities by 2028 with long-term plans to expand into guided missile manufacturing, Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin announced during an official visit to Australia. The initiative is anchored by a landmark Strategic Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) signed in Canberra between Malaysian conglomerate The Weststar Group—acting through Weststar Defence Industries Sdn Bhd—and Australian aerospace firm Rocket Technologies International Pty Ltd (RTI). The formal signing ceremony at the National Convention Centre Canberra, witnessed by high-ranking officials including Dewan Rakyat Speaker Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Johari bin Abdul and Malaysian High Commissioner Her Excellency Datin Paduka Sharrina Abdullah, establishes joint venture entities in both nations. Valued at a potential USD10 billion in long-term commercial value across defense, satellite, and space programs, the alliance aims to reinforce sovereign aerospace development and deepen industrial synergy under the Malaysia–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework.
Under the terms of the agreement, the new joint ventures will spearhead the manufacturing and assembly of integrated defense systems, tactical rocketry, and customized government and commercial satellite solutions incorporating local content. Beyond hardware production, the collaboration encompasses the provision of specialized rocket testing, safety certification, and comprehensive Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services, alongside the development of orbital and sub-orbital launch capabilities. To sustain this sovereign industrial ecosystem, the partnership mandates extensive national technology transfer initiatives, including workforce technical training and joint research and development (R&D) programs with leading aerospace universities in both Malaysia and Australia. Group Managing Director of The Weststar Group, Tan Sri Dr. Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, and RTI Founder Allan James Payne emphasized that the venture represents a transformative, long-term strategic commitment to high-value industrial innovation, regional capability enhancement, and bilateral economic expansion.
The strategic pivot into indigenous rocket manufacturing represents a substantial evolution for Weststar Defence Industries, which has traditionally operated as a premier defense logistics and procurement provider within Southeast Asia. The company previously consolidated its standing as a core contractor for the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and civil security services through multi-year leasing contracts to supply utility helicopters and tactical vehicles across government agencies. Leveraging Weststar’s established supply chain infrastructure and program management expertise, the RTI collaboration transitions the group from platform provisioning to high-tech weapons system assembly and defense manufacturing. This industrial progression directly supports the Malaysian Ministry of Defence’s broader strategic directive to reduce reliance on foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mitigate global supply chain vulnerabilities through localized defense production.
From an operational standpoint, developing domestic rocket capabilities directly complements the artillery structure of the Malaysian Army’s Royal Artillery Regiment (Resimen Artileri Kerajaan – RAK), which currently relies on imported multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) for long-range area bombardment. The RAK currently operates two regiments of the Brazilian-built Avibras Astros II universal rocket launcher, having acquired an initial batch of 18 systems in 2002 followed by a secondary order of 18 units in August 2007. The Astros II utilizes modular launcher pods capable of firing a wide spectrum of unguided and guided rockets ranging from 127 mm to 450 mm caliber, providing tactical saturation and precision strike capability up to extended ranges. By establishing indigenous manufacturing, testing, and MRO infrastructure by 2028, Malaysia seeks to secure long-term sustainment for its heavy artillery arm, build local production capability for advanced solid-propellant rockets and guided munitions, and eventually transition from a technology importer to an exporter of tactical propulsion and missile systems in the Asia-Pacific region.
