KUALA LUMPUR: National Aerospace Industry Corp Malaysia (Naico) remains optimistic that the country’s aerospace industry will expand between 15% and 20% by 2030, underpinned by strong investment momentum and growing capabilities across the ecosystem.
Chief executive Shamsul Kamar Abu Samah said the positive outlook is driven largely by investments already secured through the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), alongside a robust post-pandemic recovery.
“We anticipate the industry will expand between 15% and 20%, given that a number of investments have already been secured through Mida.
“We are quite positive, as development after Covid-19 has been tremendous,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Defence Services Asia and National Security Asia 2026 exhibition.
He said growth will be supported primarily by continued expansion in aerospace manufacturing activities, as well as the strengthening of Malaysia’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) segment.
Shamsul noted that new investments in MRO, including the establishment of base maintenance operations in Subang by a subsidiary of SIA Engineering Company, are expected to attract more third-party aircraft into Malaysia.
“This will bring more wide-body aircraft into the country, complementing Malaysia’s existing strength in narrow-body platforms such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320,” he said.
Beyond traditional segments, Naico is also pushing for expansion into higher-value and emerging areas, particularly aviation electronics, or avionics, leveraging Malaysia’s strong electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem.
“We are looking at expanding into aviation electronics, including complex programming, software development and system integration. With our strong semiconductor and E&E capabilities, this is a natural progression for the industry,” he said.
In addition, he said Naico is prioritising new growth areas such as drones, advanced air mobility, space technologies, small satellites and rocket systems as part of its five-year expansion strategy, in line with the government’s focus on high-growth, high-value industries under the New Industrial Master Plan.
However, Shamsul cautioned that external headwinds, particularly ongoing geopolitical conflicts, could moderate the pace of growth.
He said prolonged conflicts in regions such as West Asia, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war, have disrupted global supply chains, especially for critical raw materials like titanium, which are essential for aerospace manufacturing.
At the same time, rising jet fuel prices are increasing operational costs for airlines, potentially dampening flight frequencies and, in turn, affecting demand for MRO services.
According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association, the global average jet fuel price on April 17 stood at US$184.63 per barrel, down 6.7% from US$197.83 per barrel the week before.
Despite these challenges, Shamsul said opportunities remain for Malaysia to position itself as an alternative supply chain hub and a stable destination for aircraft maintenance services.
“We have excess capacity and a stable ecosystem.
“This gives us the opportunity to attract aircraft from West Asia and Europe for MRO services here,” he said.
