US-based defense industry giant Oshkosh Defense has signed teaming agreements with Malaysian defense company Sovereign Strategic to jointly participate in the upcoming tender for new Armoured Wheeled Vehicles (AWV) by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).
Mindef is expected to initiate a multi-billion-ringgit tender for the procurement of AWVs to replace the Malaysian Army’s current fleet of vehicles that are over 40 years old. The Malaysian Army is also said to have recently concluded a comprehensive, mandatory technical evaluation of the AWVs in the US to ensure their combat-worthiness and eligibility for the tender.
Sovereign Strategic, as the prime bidder, together with Oshkosh, will propose a Transfer of Technology and local industrialization development boasting multi-billion-ringgit ICV (ICP Credit Value) to benefit not just Sovereign Strategic and its partners but many other local defense industry players. In Malaysia, ICV is a mandatory requirement imposed on all contractors through “Industrial Collaboration Programmes” (ICP) such as “offset” and “counter-trade”.
(Source: Yahoo News)
