Malaysia Plans MRO Digitalisation Roadmap to Strengthen Aerospace Competitiveness

Malaysia is developing a national digitalisation roadmap for its aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, with predictive maintenance, digital twins, artificial intelligence and automation identified as key technologies for improving competitiveness.

The National Aerospace Corporation Malaysia (Naico), under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, will develop two national roadmaps aimed at strengthening the country’s aerospace industry.

The first will focus on the digitalisation of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), while the second will develop Malaysia’s low-altitude economy (LAE) ecosystem, including drones, unmanned aerial vehicles and urban air mobility. Both roadmaps are expected to be developed over six months.

MRO Sector Targets Greater Digitalisation

Malaysia’s aerospace MRO sector generated approximately RM13 billion in revenue in 2025, representing about 40% of the country’s total aerospace revenue.

Despite its contribution to the industry, Naico said Malaysia’s MRO sector continues to lag behind international leaders in the adoption of digital technologies.

The new MRO Digitalisation Roadmap will outline how companies can adopt technologies including predictive maintenance, digital twins, automation, artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced manufacturing.

These technologies are expected to help companies improve operational efficiency, reduce turnaround times and strengthen their ability to compete with major international MRO hubs.

Naico Malaysia CEO Shamsul Kamar Abu Samah said many local MRO companies still rely heavily on manual and conventional workflows despite the global industry increasingly moving towards data-driven and automated operations.

Predictive Maintenance and Digital Twins in Focus

Predictive maintenance will be one of the technologies considered under the roadmap as Malaysia looks to modernise aircraft maintenance operations.

By using operational and equipment data to monitor asset condition, predictive maintenance can help MRO operators identify potential issues before they result in equipment failures or longer maintenance periods.

Digital twins are also included in the roadmap, alongside AI and automation, as technologies that could support more data-driven maintenance and asset-management processes.

For MRO companies, greater digitalisation could help improve visibility across maintenance activities while supporting faster and more efficient aircraft turnaround.

Assessing Digital Readiness Across Local MRO Companies

Naico is currently conducting a national technology and digital readiness assessment of Malaysian MRO companies.

The assessment will help identify the current capabilities of local companies and determine a realistic pathway for adopting new technologies across the industry.

Financing will also form part of the study.

Naico is examining options including public-private partnerships and joint financing frameworks to make digital transformation more accessible for small and medium-sized MRO companies.

The MRO Digitalisation Roadmap will be benchmarked against established aerospace maintenance hubs including Singapore, Japan, China and Germany.

Malaysia Develops Low-Altitude Economy Roadmap

Alongside MRO digitalisation, Malaysia is developing a separate Low-Altitude Economy Roadmap focused on building an ecosystem around drones, UAVs and urban air mobility.

The roadmap will establish a phased implementation plan towards 2040, covering the development and readiness of Malaysia’s low-altitude aviation ecosystem.

Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Sim Tze Tzin said drones, UAVs and urban air mobility are creating new economic opportunities.

Under Malaysia’s Drone Technology Action Plan, the drone and UAV ecosystem is projected to contribute RM50.71 billion to GDP and create 100,000 high-skilled jobs by 2030.

For the development of its low-altitude economy, Naico is studying approaches adopted in China, Japan and the UK.

Strengthening Malaysia’s Aerospace Value Chain

Naico has also begun engaging MRO and low-altitude economy companies to ensure the two roadmaps reflect the requirements of industry participants.

The initiatives form part of Malaysia’s broader effort to strengthen its aerospace value chain while increasing the adoption of advanced technologies across aviation-related industries.

For the MRO sector, technologies such as predictive maintenance, digital twins, robotics and AI are expected to become increasingly important as aircraft maintenance operations move towards more automated and data-driven processes.

Malaysia’s planned roadmap aims to provide local companies with a structured pathway to make that transition while improving the competitiveness of the country’s aerospace maintenance industry.