AFM still studying implementation of air defence system

The Armed Forces of Malta has yet to conclude a study on the implementation of a national air defence system, a spokesperson has told MaltaToday.

The study is one of the commitments listed in the AFM’s 10-year strategy published in 2016 and covering the period until 2026.

Beneath the heading Operational Reforms, the AFM pledged that ‘a study shall be initiated to consider the implementation of a National Air Defence System’.

“The study has not yet been concluded,” an AFM spokesperson said when asked for the status of this pledge.

The AFM has very limited air defence capabilities, which are currently provided by the 1st Regiment’s D Company.  The military has no missile systems, drones or combat aircraft and air defence equipment is limited to mortars, RPGs and heavy anti-aircraft artillery guns.

In recent comments to MaltaToday, former AFM deputy commander, Col David P. Attard, pointed out that the conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine have laid bare the impact the proliferation of ballistic missiles and drones is having on conflict.

Presumably, any study focusing on air defence will have to keep in mind the heightened security scenario in Europe and the Mediterranean region.

Indeed, the 2016 policy paper, while acknowledging the difficulty to plan for a decade in the ‘current fluid security environment’ stresses the need to have a medium to long term plan to cater for the time needed to ‘design, generate and implement new military capabilities’.

The policy document also says that ‘individual weaponry will be upgraded and modernised while legacy items shall be disposed of in an appropriate manner’.

Asked for the status of this exercise, the AFM spokesperson said the military was “currently in various talks with other NATO allies to evaluate the best viable course of action for the best weaponry upgrade which fits AFM needs”.

No further detail was provided but when asked whether AFM’s weaponry is in line with NATO standards, the spokesperson said: “There are numerous NATO calibres, but the most widely used include 5.56 x 45mm, 7.62 x 51mm, and 9 x 19mm. AFM does make use of such calibres.”

One aspect listed in the policy document was the need to create a Special Operations Unit to ‘consolidate all special warfare tasks’ within the AFM. This unit was set up in 2017.