Malaysian Army to receive first of 18 Nexter 105 LG1 light guns from November 2019

Dato’ Shafii Hj Roshad and Olivier Travert signing the Purchase Contract, witnessed by (from

left) Maj Gen Dato’ Nordin Hj Salleh, Malaysian Army Director of Artillery, Dato’ Abdul Hadi Abdul Razak, Chairman of ADS, Maj Gen Thierry Marchand, Armed Forces Commander for New Caledonia and Col Jean Francois Shoonmann, French Defense Attache to Malaysia.(Photo: Nexter Systems-ADSSB)

The Malaysian Army will receive its 18 105mm LG1 light guns from Nexter Systems afterall. The press release announcing the signing of an agreement in Kuala Lumpur between French defence company, Nexter, and its Malaysian partner, ADS Sdn Bhd, was released yesterday. The signing presumably took place yesterday - the final day of the four-day Defence Services Asia arms show.

ADS is short for Advanced Defence Systems.

Here is the full press release for your reading pleasure. Do note the error: As far as we know, the Singapore Artillery no longer uses the LG1. One of these guns is now at the Singapore Artillery museum at Khatib Camp.

Malaysian Ministry of Defense opts for 18 105LG1 Artillery Systems of Nexter and his partner ADS

Kuala Lumpur, April 19, 2018 - The Ministry of Defense, Malaysia announced the acquisition of 18 units of 105LG1 artillery systems for the Armed Forces during one of the largest defense services exhibition in Asia, DSA&NATSEC 2018. This 3-year contract will start by November 2019 with the first delivery of 6 light guns and the last delivery is due to take place in February 2020.

The 105LG1 is a 105mm gun designed for intervention and rapid reaction forces. With a maximum range of 17 km, it can be towed by a light vehicle, transported by an average helicopter (PUMA or Bell 212 type) or parachuted by a tactical transport aircraft (C130-Hercules type). This extreme mobility, thanks to its low weight (1650 kg), allows it to be deployed on any theater of operation as complex as it is (jungle, forest, mountains etc.). A crew of 5 men is enough to make it operational very quickly (a battery setup of 30 seconds) and to shoot at a rate of at least 12 rounds per minute.

Combat Proven and qualified by the French army, the gun of 105LG1 equips today six armies around the world: Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Belgium, Canada and Colombia. This new acquisition of 105LG1 by the Malaysian army confirms the excellent performance, ease of use and robustness of this gun.

ADS, one of the major Malaysian defense players, and Nexter, the French land defense leader, are business partners since 8 years and this contract is a new step of a fruitful cooperation. In support to the local artillery industry, 105 LG1 systems will be assembled locally at the ADS Assembly facilities near Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. ADS is confident that this initiative will create self-reliance and improve the artillery capabilities among the armed forces. The package will also include long range ERG3 ammunition and Bacara Ballistic Computer.

Dato’Shafii Hj Roshad of ADS Sdn Bhd (ADS) expressed his appreciation to the Malaysian Government for the opportunity to work together and will continue to support the Government of Malaysia in providing solutions for the defense arena. Olivier Travert, Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer of Nexter said that "this contract is a new recognition of the Nexter Group's expertise in the field of artillery and ammunition. This is an important success in our strategy to position our group as the leading artillery partner in Asia.”

END