The Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is the artillery corps of the Malaysian Army. Rejimen Artileri DiRaja was formed in Kajang on 15 August 1957 when a single battery was formed, drawn from Malay personnel formerly serving with the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery. Today Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is a modern fighting arm providing direct fire support to Malaysian Army units using field artillery pieces and MLRS.
History
In 1957, an officer from Malaya Command was sent to Singapore to invite Malayan citizens serving with the 1st Singapore Artillery regiment to return home and serve with the Federation Artillery Battery. The drive succeeded in recruiting 89 personnel of 1 Singapore Artillery to return and serve with the Federation Army. On 15 August 1957, the 1st Field Battery, Federation Army was formed in Kajang with the 89 members at the core. The battery was equipped with the British 25 pounder field gun and was commanded by Major Sherston Baker, Royal Artillery. succeeded Major M. Barkeley RA was Major Rowe and on 1 January 1962 the 1st Regiment Federation Artillery was formed under Lt Col W E Black.
The main role of Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is to provide direct and indirect artillery fire support in the fields of operations. The modern Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is equipped with a variety of equipment and fulfils a wide range of roles, including observation, Airborne Artillery, Armoured Artillery, Long Range Missile Systems and Air defence. Regular units of the Rejimen Artileri DiRaja are complemented by members of the Askar Wataniah, which presently provide 5 Artillery Batteries.
Equipment
Rejimen Artileri DiRaja is equipped with Field Artillery pieces, Multiple Launched Rocket Launchers, Anti Aircraft Artillery and Air Defence Missiles. Presently the inventory of Rejimen Artileri DiRaja includes:
Air Defence Artillery Regiments are either equipped with :
Radar guided anti aircraft artillery such as the Oerlikon 35 mm gun system
Man portable Surface to Air missiles such as the Thales Starstreak, the Anza MK II and the Igla missile systems, with an effective slant range of 5,000 metres.
The BAe Jernas missile provides effective low levelair defence within a slant radius of 8,000 metres.
Rejimen ke 51 Artileri Diraja based in Negeri Sembilan
Rejimen ke 52 Artileri Diraja based in Kedah
Rejimen ke 61 Artileri Diraja based in Johor
Pusat Latihan Artileri based in Negeri Sembilan
Rejimen ke 391 Artileri Diraja based in Perlis
Planned Purchase of Medium Range SAM
AFP reported on 20 July 2004 from Kuala Lumpur quoting Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak that Malaysia has agreed in principle to purchase medium-range KS-1A missiles from China.