Malaysia seeks additional Anka UAVs
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has started operations with its new Turkish Aerospace Industries ANKA-S unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). (Royal Malaysian Air Force)
The Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has confirmed to Janes plans to procure additional Turkish Aerospace Anka-S (Phoenix) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) after launching operations with the first batch of three aircraft.
A MINDEF spokesperson said on 18 June that the ministry will soon launch Phase 2 of the acquisition programme, but did not provide further details. The procurement would double the number of Anka-S UAVs in service with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
At an acceptance ceremony for the first three UAVs at Labuan Air Base in East Malaysia on 16 June, Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the additional Anka-S units would “strengthen Malaysia's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, especially over the South China Sea”.
Nordin added that the Phase 2 proposal will be submitted under the current national development planning framework, according to state-owned media.
The first batch of Anka-S UAVs has been assigned to No 11 Squadron at Labuan Air Base. The variant is designated locally as Anka-THS. The RMAF said the UAVs will support “continuous monitoring in strategic areas of the country's waters, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.”
According to Nordin, the UAVs were delivered to Labuan from earlier in 2026. Turkish Aerospace began test flights from the air base from 3 April, as part of handover preparations to the RMAF.
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