SHAH ALAM: Looking at some of the comments posted here and at the Malaysian Defence Facebook page, I sometimes feel uneasy about posting things like the failed Blackhawk deal. But I guess we cannot have sunshine without the storm.
And the sunshine in our case this time around is the M109s. We are getting the M109s SPH, which I had reported exclusively here late last year. Story here.
The M109s will be upgraded to the latest A5 standards though I have not been told the details of the refurbishment deal. It is likely that it will be minimal. And no, we are not supposed to get the Paladin version as touted by the various copy and paste guys.
Even though the SPH are ex-US Army National Guard stock, the order is finally coming through unlike the Blackhawks and the Mark V SOC. Mark V SOC story.
I was told that Malaysia will assumed ownership of the SPH in the next couple of weeks. The transfer of ownership is part of the Excess Defence Articles program before any work on the SPH can start or delivery can take place. Uncle Sam will not want to pay for items it had already retired and already offered to friendly countries hence the need for the transfer of ownership.
Its just like buying your uncle old bike or car, he wants to get the money first before you can modify the vehicle. And if you did modify the vehicle bright purple or fixed the loudest exhaust you can find, your uncle can tell everyone that he had sold it to you, so its your fault, not his. (I know I should find another analogy but I think this is the simplest one).
As I had posted previously, the number of the M109 SPHs we are getting is around 30 though the actual numbers to be refurbished is still unclear at the moment. The M109s will be assigned to a unit of the Royal Artillery Regiment.
At least one battery will be part of Task Force 450 stationed in the ESSCOM AOR. Malaysian Defence had reported the Army Chief as saying that the M109s will be based in ESSCOM as part of the soon to be set-up Combined Arms Brigade (it is now called Task Force 450).
Probably the whole regiment could be part of ESSCOM but a number will definitely be assigned to the Artillery school in Port Dickson for training and other tasks.
The M109s are expected to be delivered next year, after refurbishing and training are conducted, though I have yet to be told of the exact dates.
Happy Merdeka!
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (42)
Fun fact; upgrsded M109 (offered by swiss company) is actually shortlisted for Norwegian SPH programme (along with K9)
This older platform actually managed to beat both PzH2000 and Caesar during the trial
Wait. Isn't M109A6 suppose to be?
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Not the Paladin, which is the former designation of the A6/A7. I had always written that we are getting A5 or A5++. If you want to believe what others said it's up to you.
How many guns are in an ATM battalion anyway?
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I am not really sure actually, perhaps someone can chip in .
There's an artillery camp in the nearly final stages of completion in Kajang as buildings, surveillance tower and pillbox can already be seen right by the highway connecting the town to Putrajaya. In coming years, artillery convoys surely will be hive of activity along side the completion of this camp.
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The camp is the replacement for the 31 RAR that has to vacate Sg Besi airbase
Well thqt is a good news as our close neighbours are also getting their m109 soon (from European stocks)
2017 Nat.Day no see Blackhawk but see M109A5, I bet somebody will get confused and will post on the net "Army received a new tank".
A5 or A6 doesnt matter, as long as can fire on demand, on time, on target. An existing battalion change its Pack 56 to M109A5? Looks like good chance for RAR AW to have its own Pack 56.
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They tend to prefer new units instead of just swapping kits especially when it comes to new kits. We will have to wait and see
Have you guys seen the upgraded pt-91 from Poland called the pt-16?
New turret with autoloader 120mm gun firing nato rounds.
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I Googled it and found it.
Tom Tom,
You mean ''regiment''. We have no artillery battalions per say. Each regiment will have several batteries and each battery will have several guns. Not sure if we have 6 or 8 Model 56s in each battery.
During the 2nd Emergency it was common for 2 or even 1 gun to be placed in direct support of a infantry unit. In theory an artillery regiment could consist of a single battery of 4 guns or 3 batteries of 4 guns each - depends. At times the composition of a battery will be dependent on the number of guns we have. With the FH-70s it was a battery of 9 and a training battery of 3.
The downside of having 155mm in East Malaysia is that there is no range there that can take 155mm. Sure, crews of the East Malaysia based battery can live fire at Gemas but it makes more sense to live fire in ESSCOM with units they are intended to support. Instead of being based in penny packets, ideally all the M-109s would be based in the same area. Makes it easier logistics and training wise and enables one to mass fire.
.....,
Remains to be seen if there will be any takers. In the early 2000's KDMB saw good prospects with its 120mm T-84 and a bustle auto loader but didn't sell any.
The expected one, the dream not come true but the unexpected one, the dream may come true.
Let's wait until it official sign..
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Its ours by all account, just waiting for the day
"The camp is the replacement for the 31 RAR that has to vacate Sg Besi airbase"
"Looks like good chance for RAR AW to have its own Pack 56."
What is RAR?
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Royal Artillery Regiment or Regimen Artileri DiRaja