Malaysia Adopts Thales HF XL Radio Systems

SIGNED at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2025 exhibition in London, Thales won a Malaysian contract to supply its new generation of resilient high-data-rate land-based High-Frequency XL radio systems to the Malaysian Army. With that, Malaysia becomes the system’s first export customer and first country in Asia to procure it.

The contract signed between Thales and local Malaysian partner Advanced Defence Systems (ADS) encompasses the procurement of more than 100 units of complete vehicle-mounted stations including radios, amplifiers, and antennas. The HF XL provides ten times the data rate of current HF systems and ensures resilient long-range communications in constrained environments, perfectly suited to Malaysia’s tropical terrain.

This solution provides the full advantages of HF, including secure transmissions, low operating costs and long-range coverage in remote areas or environments poorly served by satellite. It enhances resilience against jamming and enables the transfer of large data files such as images and video streaming.

The complete range of TRC 3900 HF XL radio stations also includes 20W manpack solutions for long-range mobile autonomous force needs up to 1000km, as well as 400 W & 1KW radio solutions, that enable deployed command posts to communicate with command headquarters and  with other units in remote areas of the theatre of operations, over distances of up to 5,000 km.

Thales’ longstanding deep expertise in tactical and sovereign communications in Malaysia has been unmatched, with more than 10,000 radios delivered to the Malaysian Army to-date. The HF XL radios will be fully interoperable with existing radios in the Army’s inventory, positioning Thales as a key partner to Malaysia in secure communications.  This position is reinforced with the support of ADS, an established Malaysian champion in the defence and security sectors, with both parties committed towards strengthening long-term support and services to the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF).

Thales Malaysia’s Country Director Florian Riou said, “The signing of this contract with ADS is a commitment from Thales to work with Malaysian champions to drive sovereignty and support Malaysia’s long-term defence ambitions. Through close collaboration and knowledge transfer, Thales aims to participate to the empowerment of Malaysian’s strategic capabilities. I am proud that we can continue our legacy as a leading tactical radio communications provider to the Malaysian Army, providing them the highest levels of operational efficiency and persistently building up local capacity and expertise with a leading partner.”–tls/adj/dl (Pix:THALES)