STM-G7 Malaysia UAV Project Boosts Asia-Pacific Defence Autonomy

STM-G7 Collaboration and Malaysia’s UAV Ambitions

Mohd Hanif Ismail - : Oct 5, 2025 - : 12:40 pm

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Malaysia is poised to take a major step forward in its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities, as both foreign and local defence industry players gear up for expanded cooperation, testing, and local development. At the same time, rising demand in the Asia-Pacific for tactical UAVs is creating opportunities — and imperatives — for more self-reliant systems, indigenous production, and flexible deployment across land, sea and air forces.

Background

UAVs (also known as drones) have become central to modern military operations, especially for tasks such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), border control, anti-terrorism, force protection, and logistical support. In the Asia-Pacific region in particular, increasing strategic competition, maritime disputes, and a growing focus on multi-domain operations have driven governments to invest heavily in unmanned systems. The regional tactical UAV market is forecast to grow from about USD 5.11 billion in 2024 to USD 8.96 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11.9 %. Meanwhile, the broader military drone market in Asia-Pacific generated revenue of USD 11,286.3 million in 2024, and is expected to more than double by 2030, growing at a CAGR of ~15.4 %.

Malaysia, like many of its neighbours, has recognised that to maintain credible deterrence, domain awareness, and rapid response, off-the-shelf imports alone are insufficient. Greater local production, maintenance capacity, and collaboration with trusted partners are becoming national priorities.

Recent Developments: STM & Malaysia

At LIMA 2025, Türkiye’s defence company STM signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Malaysian entities covering naval engineering and tactical mini-UAV systems. One MoU — with Lumut Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (LUNAS) — targets naval platform collaboration. The other — with G7 Aerospace, a Malaysian defence/aviation firm — is for joint production of tactical mini-UAV systems in Malaysia.

STM’s UAV products such as KARGU, TOGAN, and BOYGA have been in Turkish Armed Forces use for some eight years, seeing deployment in counter-terrorism, cross-border, and special operations. They are now exported to over ten countries across three continents. The collaboration seeks not just acquisition, but technology transfer, engineering support, and local production.

Local Innovation: G7 Aerospace & STRIDE

Meanwhile, G7 Aerospace is developing UAVs in Malaysia via a Research & Technology (R&T) programme with STRIDE (the Defence Science & Technology Research Institute). Two UAV models are under development: an 8 kg VTOL system, and a 200 kg tactical UAV. These developments are intended for use by the Malaysian Army, Navy, Air Force and the Malaysia Defence Intelligence Organisation (MDIO).

The projects are being carried out in collaboration with University of Technology Malaysia (UTM), following a “Triple-Helix” model of academia-industry-government cooperation. Local maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities are also being upgraded (for example, G7’s Melaka facility) to support not just off-aircraft component work, but AI-enabled capabilities such as autonomous navigation, object detection, predictive maintenance, etc.

Financially, the R&T contracts for the 200 kg tactical UAV and 8 kg VTOL UAV are valued at over RM 13 million (roughly USD 2.7 million) in Malaysian open tenders.

What’s Next: Testing and Integration

STM’s UAV platforms will soon undergo testing by the Malaysian Armed Forces. The target users are broad: the Malaysian Army, Navy, Air Force, and the MDIO. The aim is likely to integrate or interoperate STM’s mini-UAV systems alongside home-grown ones from G7, particularly for missions requiring vertical take-off/landing (VTOL), fixed-wing endurance, or heavier payloads.

From an operational perspective, the 8 kg VTOL UAV would be suited for short-range, rapid-deployment tasks (e.g. surveillance, logistics in constrained spaces, perhaps shipboard deployment), while the 200 kg fixed-wing tactical UAV could handle longer endurance, higher altitude, or heavier sensor and payload loads.