Terra Drone eyes Malaysia for broader ASEAN expansion

Terra Drone's B1 interceptor UAV has completed demonstration tests for ATLA. (Terra Drone)

Japan's Terra Drone plans to expand into the broader ASEAN defence market following its partnership with Malaysia's DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (Deftech).

Terra Drone announced collaboration with Deftech in late August to establish Malaysia as a base for its expansion into the defence market of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and support growing regional deployments of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

ASEAN launchpad

Terra Drone CEO Toru Tokushige told Janes that the partnership is intended to address Malaysia's wider security requirements, shaped by its location in the Indo-Pacific facing the Strait of Malacca and the southern part of the South China Sea.

Areas covered under the partnership include developing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) UAVs for maritime surveillance, coastal security, and border protection; surveillance systems for critical infrastructure, military facilities, ports, and airports; and counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) and interceptor UAV capabilities, Tokushige said.

“By combining Terra Drone's defence drone technologies and operational expertise with Deftech's local market presence and systems integration capabilities, we believe the partnership can go beyond simply supplying platforms,” Tokushige said. “It can also support training, maintenance, and operational support after deployment. This is a key strategic value of the collaboration.”

Tokushige said Malaysia's status as a recipient of Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA) programme is another factor supporting the partnership. OSA was established in 2023 to provide partner countries with equipment and supplies, as well as infrastructure development assistance.

“We see OSA as more than simply a source of financial support. It is a framework for government-to-government security co-operation that can create opportunities for Japanese defence equipment and technologies to be introduced and operated in real-world environments in partner countries,” he added.