SHANGHAI: Malaysia continues exploring the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone technology through collaboration with China, focusing on the exchange and sharing of expertise and technology.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the collaboration between MARA Aerospace & Technologies Sdn Bhd and the third-largest UAV technology company in China, Honeycomb Aerospace Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, will enable Malaysia to locally develop such a technology.

He said that the technology is widely used in agriculture and border areas and this collaboration will allow Malaysia to develop UAV technology to meet local and international market demands.

For a start, the company will transfer the technology to the University Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT), Sepang, to train students in UAV production. Next month, they will start the first UAV assembly with an initial production target of 3,000 units per year.

Next year, the company will invest RM100 million to establish a permanent facility to train students in the field of TVET (technical and vocational education and training), he told a press conference here today.