Nexter LG1 for the Royal Malaysian Army

At DSA Nexter bagged its fourth south-east Asian customer for its 105 LG1 light gun. The contract for 18 guns was signed during the show; it will extend over three years, and the first deliveries of six guns being planned for November 2019. Gun assembly will take place at DS facilities near Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. The package also includes long range ER G3 ammunition and the Bacara ballistic computer.

These weapon systems will provide the Royal Malaysian Army with a mobile firepower, thanks to the quick redeployability of the gun. With its weight of 1.65 tons the LG1 can be easily transported under sling by a medium transport helicopter. Using Nexter’s HE ER G3 105 mm ammunition the LG1 can reach a maximum range of 17 km, minimum range being 6 km, while using US M101 standard ammunition maximum range is reduced to 11 km. The new gun can be carried in both the Royal Malaysian Air Force transport aircraft, the C-130H hercules and the Atlas. Sixteen guns will be assigned to a light artillery regiment, while two will be retained for training. Last deliveries are planned for February 2020.

According to Malaysian sources, Nexter will deploy to the country a Caesar 6×6 self-propelled gun for a test firing; although no budget seems currently available for the acquisition of such a system, this however shows the considerable interest for the 155/52 mm highly mobile artillery system, which can be easily redeployed by air using the A400M in service in Malaysia. Indonesia and Thailand have already acquired the Nexter system, which provides a range of over 50 km.