BEIRUT — Turkish defense firms took advantage of an exposition in Malaysia this week to sign a number of contracts and cooperation agreements with Malaysian armed forces and defense industry.
During DSA 2026, the defense expo taking place in Kuala Lumpur, four Turkish firms announced plans to team up with Malaysian companies in different domains, including missiles, secure and satellite communications, and artificial intelligence.
CTech, a subsidiary of Turkish Aerospace Industries, announced today a “product supply and cooperation agreement” with Malaysia’s AR Eastern with an aim of supplying jamming-resistant satellite communications modems to the Malaysian armed forces. But the companies are looking beyond Kuala Lumpur for business.
“Within the framework of the agreement, it is planned that the parties will develop solutions tailored to regional needs, carry out joint projects by combining their technical competencies, and jointly evaluate business opportunities in the ASEAN market,” CTech’s statement said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Meanwhile Turkish Electronics giant Aselsan joined forces with Malaysian BOUSTEAD to jointly “explore the development of SATCOM capabilities across ground and space segments, including Malaysia’s potential GEO satellite,” Aselsan said in a statement on Tuesday.
The collaboration will also see “localization through joint development, as well as targeted technical workshops and training for key stakeholders, including the Malaysian Armed Forces.”
Turkish software and AI specialist Havelsan has also teamed with Malaysia’s MIVSB to “co-develop a robust national ecosystem dedicated to localized foundational AI,” Havelsan said in a statement today.
The cooperation is expected to integrate “critical capabilities across infrastructure, technology, and market engagement, combining MIMOS’ deep-tech innovation base with HAVELSAN’s proven expertise in software-intensive systems and operational architectures.”
With missiles in high demand worldwide, manufacturer Roketsan inked a contract with Malaysian Ministry of Defense to equip the armed forces with surface-to-surface missiles. The number of systems and worth of the contract were not disclosed.
The new agreements mark an expansion of Turkish and Malaysian defense cooperation that analyst Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu noted has solidified in recent years, “including a government-to-government memorandum on defense products procurement, high-level Malaysian visits to Turkish defense institutions, and expanding cooperation in UAVs, tanks, and naval platforms.”
Turkish firm STM is equipping the Malaysian navy with three littoral mission ships, according to a deal inked in 2024.
Malaysia also procured nine ANKA unmanned aerial vehicles from Turkish Aerospace Industries in 2023. The deal of the medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drones for Royal Malaysian Air Force was approximately worth $100 million.
“Malaysia chose Turkish suppliers because they offered a rare combination of combat-proven capability, affordability, speed of delivery, and eagerness to build long-term industrial partnerships rather than simply sell end product systems,” Çubukçuoğlu, an expert at TRENDS Research & Advisory in Abu Dhabi, told Breaking Defense.
He added that what Ankara is offering is not only its defense systems, but also “political trust, and a partnership model aligned with Kuala Lumpur’s goal of modernizing its forces while strengthening local industry and strategic autonomy.”
