On Monday, March 25, 2024, the Malaysian Ministry of Defence announced the Life Extension Program (LEP) modernization plan for all 48 PT-91M Pendekar tanks delivered between 2007 and 2009 by the Polish company Zakłady Mechaniczne Bumar-Łabędy. Details were made public in response to oral parliamentary question No. 72, submitted by former Deputy Defense Minister Ikmal Hisham bin Abdul Aziz.
Photo: Malaysian Ministry Of Defence
In his question to Defense Minister Mohamed Chalid Nordin, the Member of Parliament inquired about the future of PT-91M Pendekar tanks in the Malaysian Army (Tentera Darat Malaysia), considering that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the Polish company Zakłady Mechaniczne Bumar-Łabędy (a part of the Polish Armaments Group), has halted the production of spare parts, and the performance of these tanks in combat operations (exemplified by the PT-91M/M1R Twardy tanks transferred to Ukraine by Poland) has shown poor results.
In response, the defense ministry stated that the Pendekar tanks continue to play a significant role in offensive capabilities and deterrence. They were phased in between 2007 and 2011 as part of the 11th Royal Armoured Corps Regiment (Rejimen ke-11 Kor Armour DiRaja), along with 6 technical support vehicles WZT-4 (WZT-91M), 5 PMC Leguan bridge layer (PMC-91M), 5 MID-M road engineering machines (MID-91M), and 1 driver training vehicle SJ-09.
Regarding the further use of the vehicles, it was informed that the current agreement with Bumar-Łabędy for operational support and spare parts delivery expires in September 2024, but it will be extended until September 2025. It was confirmed that spare parts deliveries from the manufacturer are still ongoing.
As part of another initiative, the ministry is undertaking efforts to address the key operational issues of these tanks, which were identified in collaboration with their users and the local industry. For this purpose, two tanks underwent tests conducted between June 2023 and March 2024. Problems were identified with the Renk France ESM 350M hydrokinetic transmissions, electronic components of the GLRF laser rangefinder, and the Sagem Savan-15 fire control system.
It is expected that the LEP modernization of the tanks will be carried out within the framework of the 12th Malaysian Plan (RMKe 12) from 2021 to 2025 or the 13th Malaysian Plan (RMKe 13) from 2026 to 2030.
It is worth noting that during the Defence Services Asia (DSA) in April 2016 in Singapore, the French company Renk France proposed the modernization of Malaysian tank power packs by replacing them with a newly introduced solution called 350S, equipped with the ESM 350 transmission and Scania D1I6 engine, offering 1184 HP (883 kW) instead of the previous power pack consisting of the PZL Wola S-1000R engine with 1000 HP (735 kW) and ESM 350M transmission.