- Malaysia’s Weststar Defence Industries and Australia’s RTI have agreed to form joint ventures in each other’s countries to build satellites, test rockets and eventually launch payloads
- The companies see more than $10 billion in long-term commercial potential across aerospace, defense and satellite programs
- The ventures will produce civilian spacecraft, government satellite capabilities and integrated defense systems
Malaysia’s Weststar Defence Industries and Australian firm Rocket Technologies International have agreed to build satellites, test and maintain rockets, and eventually launch payloads to orbit through a pair of joint venture companies they will establish in each other’s countries, Australian Defence Magazine reported.
The two firms see more than $10 billion in long-term commercial potential from the aerospace, defense, satellite and advanced technology programs the ventures could pursue — a figure they cast as a meaningful contribution to trade between Malaysia and Australia.
What Capabilities Are Weststar and RTI Targeting?
The ventures intend to produce civilian spacecraft, specialized government satellite capabilities and integrated defense systems, with local design and content built in. Launch is the longer-range ambition, with the companies aiming to develop both orbital and sub-orbital capability over time.
Rocket testing, certification, and maintenance, repair and overhaul services round out the technical portfolio. The partners also committed to a talent pipeline — technical training, workforce education and research projects with aerospace and defense universities in both nations — so the sovereign capabilities they build have people to sustain them.
How Did the Weststar-RTI Agreement Come Together?
Weststar Group Founder and Group Managing Director Tan Sri Dr. Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim signed the strategic joint venture agreement with RTI Founder Allan James Payne in Canberra, at a ceremony attended by senior Malaysian officials.
Syed Azman said the deal is more than a commercial arrangement, describing a long-term commitment to sovereign aerospace and defense capability and high-value industry in both countries. According to Payne, the tie-up combines the two organizations’ industrial strengths to drive regional innovation through trusted partnerships.
The agreement feeds into the Malaysia-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which counts defense industry collaboration, advanced technologies and education among its focus areas.
