VR tour through SIGMA 9113 impresses visitors to Kuala Lumpur’s DSA 2022

Damen Naval had its own stand in the Holland Pavilion at the international Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2022 exhibition, which was held at the end of March in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. It was the first defence exhibition after the coronavirus pandemic to be organised in Asia, which made it a special event, says Pieter Heijboer. The manager naval sales support looks back on a successful participation in which Damen Naval had ample opportunity to demonstrate its renewed SIGMA 9113 design to dignitaries and the entire Navy Summit from host country Malaysia.

DSA takes place every two years. “Although the exhibition has a regional character, it is also well attended by all the major international companies and delegations,” says Pieter. “For Damen Naval, the event offered an excellent opportunity to present the refurbished SIGMA 9113 as a Littoral Mission Ship (LMS). The Malaysian Navy is undergoing a major reorganisation aimed at increasing efficiency by reducing the number of ship types in the fleet, the so-called ‘15 to 5’ programme. One of those five ship types they want to move forward with is the LMS, and we think our SIGMA 9113 design is ideally suited to that.”

A valuable addition was that the Damen Naval team had access to VR glasses with which a virtual tour of the SIGMA 9113 could be made. Pieter: “A user-friendly device that, judging from the enthusiastic reactions of the users, turned out to be very effective.” Pieter proudly reports that all important dignitaries of the Malaysian government honoured the Damen Naval stand in the Holland Pavilion with a visit, including the Minister of Defence, Hishammuddin Hussein, and the entire top brass of the Navy.

Pieter looks back on the fair with satisfaction. “I can only say that as a renowned builder of naval vessels, we have positioned ourselves well for the tender we can expect next year.” In the beginning, of course, it took some getting used to for everyone to participate in this first fair in a long time, says Pieter. “But soon everyone had found their feet. The physical contacts with the customer once again proved to be indispensable and the Teams meetings that we have been setting up for two years remain important but supplementary.”

And what was Pieter’s personal highlight of the DSA? “When my trousers ripped,” he says with a laugh, “after which, in true Asian style, the trousers underwent emergency repair during the night and were delivered back on time in the morning.”