The (Royal Artillery Regiment) is the artillery corps of the

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army (; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysi ...

. was formed in

Kajang Kajang is a city in Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia, located southeast of Kuala Lumpur. Kajang, along with much of Hulu Langat District, is governed by the Kajang Municipal Council. Kajang town is located on the eastern banks of the L ...

on 15 August 1957 when a single battery was formed, drawn from Malay personnel formerly serving with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Today is a modern fighting arm providing direct fire support to

units using field artillery pieces and MLRS.

History

In 1957, an officer from Malaya Command was sent to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

to invite Malayan citizens serving with the 1st Singapore Artillery regiment to return home and serve with the

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

Artillery Battery. The drive succeeded in recruiting 89 personnel of 1 Singapore Artillery to return and serve with the Federation Army. On 15 August 1957, the 1st Field Battery, Federation Army was formed in Kajang with 89 gunners of all ranks, all veterans of the Royal Artillery in Singapore, this date is today marked as its regimental anniversary. The founding battery was equipped with the British

25 pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, with a calibre of 3.45 inches (87.6 mm), was a piece of field artillery used by British and Commonwealth forces in the Second World War. Durable, easy to operate and versatile, ...

field gun and was commanded by Major Sherston Baker,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Its guns fired the 21 gun salute on

Hari Merdeka Independence Day (), also known as National Day (), is the independence day of the Federation of Malaya from the British Empire. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in article 160 of the ...

around half a month later. His successor was Major Rowe and on 1 January 1962 the 1st Regiment Federation Artillery was formed under Lt Col W E Black, its first commander.

Colonel In Chief And Regimental Motto

H.R.H. Tuanku Al-Sultan Muhammad V, the Sultan of Kelantan is the Colonel-In-chief of the (Royal Artillery Regiment) since 13 September 2010. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces when he assumed office aa the 15th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong on 13 December 2016. The regimental Motto is "". The traditional heraldic emblem of the Malaysian Royal Artillery follows the design of the emblem of the Royal Artillery in the UK.

Role

The main role of is to provide direct and indirect artillery fire support in the fields of operations. The modern is equipped with a variety of equipment and fulfils a wide range of roles, including observation, Airborne Artillery, Armoured (Mechanised) Artillery, Long Range Missile Systems and Air defence. Regular units of the are complemented by members of the Askar Wataniah, which presently provide 5 Artillery Batteries.

Equipment

The regiment is equipped with Field Artillery pieces, Multiple Launched Rocket Launchers, Anti Aircraft Artillery and Air Defence Missiles. Presently the artillery inventory includes: *

Astros II MLRS Astros II (Artillery SaTuration ROcket System) is a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher produced in Brazil by the Avibras company. It features modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 127 to 450 mm (5–17.72 inche ...

G5 howitzer The G5 is a South African towed howitzer of 155 mm calibre developed in South Africa by Denel Land Systems. The G5 design was based on the Canadian GC-45 howitzer, GC-45 155 mm gun which was highly modified to suit southern African conditio ...

OTO Melara Mod 56 The OTO-Melara Mod 56 is an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer built and developed by OTO Melara. It fires the standard US type M1 ammunition. History The OTO Melara 105 mm Mod 56 began life in the 1950s to meet the requirement for a moder ...

M102 howitzer The M102 is a light, towable 105 mm howitzer used by the United States Army in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. Overview The M102 105 mm howitzer is used in air mobile (helicopter), attack plane, and light infantry oper ...

(later use for ceremony) *

GIAT LG1 The LG1 is a modern 105 mm towed howitzer designed and produced by GIAT Industries (now Nexter group) of France. Design The LG1 howitzer is a 105 mm towed artillery piece that features both low weight and a high level of accuracy over long ...

Rapier (missile) Rapier is a surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army to replace their towed Bofors 40/L70 anti-aircraft guns. The system is unusual as it uses a manual optical guidance system, sending guidance commands to the missile in flight over ...

Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as ''Rheinmetall Air Defence AG'' following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated 2 ZLA/3 ...

(GDF-005 variant) and 15 FCU Skyguard Radar Systems *

Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to models of 40 mm calibre automatic anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: * Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/43 - developed in the 1930s with market entry in 1934, wid ...

(L70 variant)

Field Artillery Regiments

Field Artillery Regiments are equipped with 105mm Pack Howitzers which have a range of 10,500 metres.

Air Defence Artillery Regiments

Soldiers Load a Rapier Missile System During London Olympics Security Exercise

Air Defence Artillery Regiments are equipped with either: * Radar guided anti-aircraft artillery such as the Oerlikon 35 mm gun system * Man portable Surface to Air missiles such as the Thales Starstreak, the Anza MK II and the Igla missile systems, with an effective slant range of 5,000 metres. * The BAe Jernas missile with a reported slant radius of 8,000 metres.

Guns and Colours

The Malaysian Royal Artillery maintains traditions of using Colours and Guns in formal ceremonies, a tradition inherited by the Royal Artillery with later infusions of the traditions of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. While the tradition of parading a 25-pounder as Regimental Colour Gun is maintained by the Royal Artillery during the regimental day and Hari Merdeka consistent with the British traditions of the Royal Artillery in the UK, the 1st Artillery Regiment (Parachute), based in Malacca state, is the sole artillery battalion to parade a Regimental Colour in the presence of the Colonel in Chief, HRH the Sultan of Kelantan.

Units

* Rejimen Pertama Artileri Diraja (PARA) based in

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

* Rejimen Ke 2 Artileri Diraja based in

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

* Rejimen Ke 3 Artileri Diraja based in

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

* Rejimen Ke 4 Artileri Diraja based in Negeri Sembilan * Rejimen Ke 5 Artileri Diraja based in Kelantan * Rejimen ke 6 Artileri Diraja based in Sabah * Rejimen ke 7 Artileri Diraja based in Pahang * Rejimen ke 8 Artileri Diraja based in Sarawak * Rejimen ke 21 Artileri Diraja based in Negeri Sembilan * Rejimen ke 31 Artileri Diraja based in Kuala Lumpur * Rejimen ke 32 Artileri Diraja based in Malacca * Rejimen ke 33 Artileri Diraja based in Johor * Rejimen ke 34 Artileri Diraja based in Negeri Sembilan * 361 Battery (361 Bti) Rejimen Artileri Diraja (Parachute) based in Malacca * 41 Bti Rejimen Artileri Diraja based in Selangor (carries out ceremonial duties) * Rejimen ke 51 Artileri Diraja based in Negeri Sembilan * Rejimen ke 52 Artileri Diraja based in Kedah * Rejimen ke 61 Artileri Diraja based in Johor * Pusat Latihan Artileri (Artillery Training Centre) based in Negeri Sembilan * Rejimen ke 391 Artileri Diraja based in Negeri Sembilan

References

{{Authority control Artillery administrative corps Malaysia Army corps and regiments Military units and formations established in 1957