Defence Services Asia 2018 Media Day: Malaysian Armed Forces to showcase Network Centric Operations command centre, new capabilities at biggest DSA arms show

The Malaysian Army has set up a mock command centre at the Defence Services Asia 2018 (DSA 2018) arms exposition to showcase how it intends to wield information as a weapon.

At a media preview in Kuala Lumpur today, Senang Diri was given a sneak peek inside the Malaysian Army's Network Centric Operations (NCO) display. This simulates a command centre with key staff functions aided in their decision-making with information that is drawn from various sensors, and integrated together in real-time. This command centre arms battle staff with a better sense of the locations of friendly and enemy forces, thus enabling commanders to manoeuvre Malaysian Army assets accordingly.

The display was in the final stages of setting up with various scenarios flashed onto multiple plasma screens that form a knowledge wall. This presents the battlespace situation picture and is complemented by what appears to be a large interactive display at the commander's work station.

The Malaysian Army is due to demonstrate to Senang Diri how NCO is executed during DSA 2018. Please stay tuned for a field report on the part NCO serves in the Malaysian Army's battle cycle.

Now in its 30th year, the 16th edition of the show has drawn some 1,500 companies from 60 countries. The four-day event opens its doors from tomorrow at its new venue at the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC).

The Malaysian Army's enhanced battle management capabilities is likely to be complemented by the increased use of armed battlefield robots. Such unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) will leverage on the data fused together by its NCO-enabled units to find and take out enemy forces.This includes a Turkish UGV that has found its way to the display of armoured vehicles at the DefTech booth. We will bring you more on this UGV in the coming days.

A new Malaysian Armed Forces vehicle is also found among the exhibits at Malaysia-based Weststar Defence Industries. The Thales RAPIDRanger weapons mount fitted with Starstreak surface-to-air missiles is making its show debut. We will chat with Weststar and DefTech once they're all set up.

We had a great time at the DSA 2018 Media Preview. The confidence displayed by Malaysian Armed Forces staff officers as they went about their duties in the final leg of pre-show preparations was quite evident. By the way, this is my third time to DSA. I was there in 1992 and 1994 when the show was held at the Putra World Trade Centre.

Look forward to seeing the insights gleaned from the Malaysian Armed Forces in subsequent blog posts. Taat Setia!

Note:

Please see the update on the Malaysian Army's Network Centric Operations display. Click here.