Weststar Defence Industries


Weststar Defence Industries Sdn Bhd also known as Weststar is a Malaysian defence contractor involved in the development, manufacture and distribution of military and law enforcement vehicles, as well as providing consultancy services. Through its subsidiary Global Komited, this company play an important role in supplying military equipment to Malaysian Armed Forces.

History

It was established in 2003 as a Ford vehicle dealership before it moved to the defense industry in 2007.
On March 6, 2012, the Malaysian Defense Ministry announced that Weststar would supply the Malaysian Armed Forces with the General Service cargo pickup trucks. 11 GS trucks were supplied in 2012.
On April 16, 2014, a contract was signed with Thales in order to promote various air defense systems to the Malaysian military.
On June 10, 2014, Weststar was awarded a contract to supply the Timor Leste Defence Force with GS trucks. 40 vehicles were to be delivered before the end of the year. The contract was priced at RM11 million.
During the Defence & Security Exhibition 2015 convention, Thales announced that it had signed a contract to supply the Malaysian military with FORCESHIELD to serve as its anti-air defense system. This included Starstreak missiles, Control Master 200 radar and weapon coordination systems, and Rapid Ranger and Rapid Rover mobile weapon systems.
On April 20, 2016, Weststar received a contract from the Malaysian Armed Force to equip them with 44 Weststar GK-M1 Rapid Rover vehicles. An additional 44 were also expected to be ordered. They would be outfitted with the Starstreak very short-range air defence missile on a Lightweight Multiple Launcher system. Prototypes were tested after the contract was announced.
At the DSA 2016 exhibition, Weststar unveiled the Special Operations Vehicle to visitors to showcase it to potential customers. According to Managing Director Azman Syed Ibrahim, the SOV and other vehicles in the exhibit are unmatched "in reliability, ease of maintenance and low through life costs, Weststar Defence’s cross-functional military and security vehicles provide an innovative breakthrough in satisfying diverse operational requirements for various services."