The first 12 units of the 8X8 Infantry Fighting Vehicle 25 mm (IFV25) were handed over to the Malaysian Army by DEFTECH (DRB-HICOMDefence Technologies Sdn Bhd) in December 2014. These vehicles are part of the 257 armoured vehicle units that are designed, developed, manufactured and commissioned by DEFTECH under the current contract awarded in 2011.
Thales acts as a subcontractor of DEFTECH and is in charge of the integration of an advanced open vehicle electronic architecture. Thanks to its expertise in C4ISR systems for Land Forces, Thales provides an integrated and scalable vehicle electronic architecture in the AV8 programme. It includes a wide range of Thales equipment such as communication, vetronics, sensors, command & contral, mortar, optronics that meet the rigorous operational performance criteria of the Malaysian Army.
In order to manage this programme in close cooperation with DEFTECH, Thales has set up a system integration laboratory in Malaysia managed by Thales Malaysia Sdn Bhd and its joint-venture, Sapura Thales Electronics, in order to strengthen its local footprint.
Photo credit © Thales
