M`SIAN FIRM TO PRODUCE MALE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE NEXT YEAR

BY MOHD HAIKAL ISA

LANGKAWI (Malaysia), Dec 3 (Bernama) -- By next year, Malaysia will become
the first country in this region to produce its own Medium Altitude Long
Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) code-named "Yabhon Aludra".

Unmanned Systems Technology (UST) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Composite
Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), will start producing the strategic-level
UAV at its plant in Melaka.

UST Head Muhammad Khalizi Abdul Razak said the cutting-edge "Yabhon Aludra"
UAV was developed by his company jointly with its partner, Adcom System, from
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"It is cutting edge and highly capable, its MALE level and capability are
similar to its famous counterpart "Predator UAV" used extensively by the United
States' armed forces to fight terrorism," he told Bernama in an exclusive
interview on the sidelines of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace
(LIMA) Exhibition 2009 here Thursday.

Muhammad Khalizi said it took UST and Adcom eight years to develop the
Yabhon Aludra from the initial design stage to flight testing and production.

Muhammad Khalizi said the length and height of Yabhon Aludra are about 5m
by 2.12m while its wingspan is 6.56m with a maximum 500kg take-off weight.

The UAV is capable of operating for 30 hours non-stop from an altitude of
4,500m covering over 500km in range using data link and satellite-based ground
station, he said.

He said UST and CTRM, the parent company, would sell Yabhon Aludra to
security agencies in Malaysia such as the armed forces, Police, Malaysia
Maritime Enforcement Agency, National Security Council and Royal Malaysia
Customs.

"Our market is not confined to Malaysia alone but also regional as we find
there is huge demand among homeland security agencies for every level and type
of UAV from miniature to the HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance)," he said.

Muhammad Khalizi said Yabhon Aludra, a high performance and efficient UAV
built from fibre-epoxy material completely vacuum-bagged for maximum strength,
is capable of carrying special-use sensor, thermal imager, infrared sensor,
laser designator, range finder and electro-optical sensors.

Besides Yabhon Aludra, UST also produces tactical-level UAV named "Aludra"
which has been in operations with the armed forces in the east coast of Sabah.

Currently, three Aludras are operating there, he said, adding that the
company was satisfied with their performance, added Muhammad Khalizi.
-- BERNAMA