Malaysia's Weststar Group has been appointed prime contractor by the Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to supply the Thales UK Starstreak high-velocity missile ground-based air-defence system to the Malaysian Army, it was announced on 3 August.
Weststar did not reveal the value of the contract nor the number of Starstreak systems that will be acquired. However, it did confirm that the programme would be partly funded through the return to Thales UK of Starburst low-level air defence missiles, which were ordered by the Malaysian Army in 1993. "The [Starstreak] system is being procured, in part, through a trade-in programme [featuring] the decommissioned Starburst missiles," said Weststar.
With Venezuela in a deep, complex, and increasingly urgent crisis since January, aggravated by external tensions with regional neighbours and the United States, the armed forces are likely to play a central role in the country’s future. Jim Dorschner reports
