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Malaysia will soon retire their Hawk squadron, the planes will be replaced gradually by their new LCA planes.


Malaysia is doing some excellent diplomacy all around. Very impressive!
 
30 NOVEMBER 2021

Malaysia begins evaluating proposals to replace fleet of Hawk Mk 108/208s​

by Ridzwan Rahmat

The Malaysian government has begun evaluating proposals to replace the country's ageing fleet of Hawk Mk108/208 light-attack and lead-in trainer aircraft.

The matter was disclosed by Malaysian Minister of Defence Hishammuddin Hussein on 25 November in his reply to parliamentary questions on a fatal accident involving a Hawk Mk 108 aircraft.

The accident, which occurred on 17 November at the Royal Malaysian Air Force's (RMAF's) Butterworth Air Base in Penang, killed one crew member and injured another. It is the latest in a series of fatal crashes involving the aircraft type in Malaysia since 1998.

In his reply to a question from Ahmad Nazlan Indris, Malaysian member of parliament, Hishammuddin said that the government had recently invited international contractors to submit their respective proposals to replace the Hawk Mk 108/208s under the Light Combat Aircraft/Fighter Lead-In-Trainer (LCA/FLIT) programme.

The programme intends to acquire 36 LCA/FLIT airframes for the RMAF in two phases. Eighteen airframes are being procured in the 2021 process, with the remaining aircraft to be acquired from 2025 onwards.

This submission phase for the LCA/FLIT programme was closed on 6 October 2021, and defence ministry officials are now in the process of evaluating the proposals from the various contractors, said Hishammuddin. He added that the procurement process is in line with the RMAF's transformation plan known as CAP55.

Hishammuddin has stopped short of disclosing the aircraft types that are being evaluated in the process. However, the country had previously expressed interest in Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50 Golden Eagle, Italy's M-346FA Master, and Boeing's T-7A Red Hawk for this requirement.


Newer news

 
Competition Now Between FA-50 Block 20 And M-346FA?
Sources told Defense Security Asia that the tender competition to supply 18 FLIT/LCA aircraft to TUDM is now between the FA-50 Block 20 made by South Korea/ the United States and the Italian company M-346FA.

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) - Ministry of Defense international tender to acquire 18 Fighter Lead-In Trainer/Light Combat Aircraft aircraft (FLIT/LCA) was officially closed on October 6 last year and since that date has begun the task of the appraisal team to determine the winner.

The 18-plane acquisition tender for TUDM, which is expected to cost up to RM4 billion, has attracted several aircraft manufacturers who risked their output aircraft in the tender.

Between six and eight companies are said to have joined the Ministry of Defense's international tender for the FLIT/LCA aircraft Korea Industries Aerospace (KAI), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp (CATIC).

In addition Leonardo's company and Saab Group from Sweden also joined the tender.

As we have seen over the past few weeks, the competition to supply 18 FLIT/LCA aircraft to the RMAF has been fierce, with companies involved offering various exciting deals to Malaysia.

From the offer “final assembly line,” Maintenance, Overhall and Refurbishment (MRO) centers to local production and more.

Although the competition to supply the 18 aircraft is fierce, Defense Security Asia (DSA) has been informed by sources that it is believed that at present two types of FLIT/LCA aircraft are ahead of competition based on some of its "technical strength".

Both planes are FA-50 Block 20 developed by KAI as well as the M-346 FA (Fighter Aircraft) aircraft developed by Leonardo's company.

“It seems that both aircraft are at the forefront of competition due to a number of technical factors and, logically, both aircraft are a safe choice for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).”

What is meant to be "safe" by a source of waste?

The "Safe" meant by the source is that both FLIT/LCA aircraft have been used by many countries including regional countries and are a "proven" option, with security within the network of alternatives and existing aid infrastructure.

At this time, the FA-50/TA-50 aircraft other than being used by the South Korean Air Force (about 60) were also used by our neighboring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Whereas for aircraft Leonardo M-346 Furthermore, since 2012 the aircraft has been used by our neighboring country, the Singapore Air Force, in addition to other customers such as the Italian Air Force, Poland and Israel.

The FA-50 and M-346 have reached a certain level of "maturity" that makes customers and their customers feel comfortable using it.

KAI through its local partner has also announced some very interesting offers if Malaysia chooses the FA-50.

In addition to the FA-50 and Leonardo M-346 which enjoyed success in the export market, other aircraft such as Tejas, JF-17 and L-15 Hongdu only used by the country of manufacture and failed to export to the country outside.

While the Hurjet developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is still in prototype condition, the first flight will only take place next year.

The Hurjet was described as a "new baby crawl", according to observers.

For the MiG-35, it was only used by the Russian Air Force in very small numbers at this time, in addition to the claim that it was just a fighter aircraft that had been "rebranded" from the MiG-29 aircraft before.

Whether the TUDM or the Ministry of Defense is at risk of using prototype aircraft or aircraft not used by countries other than the country of manufacture itself?

KAI offers the FA-50 Block 20 aircraft equipped with a variety of advanced equipment such as “Sniper Advance Targeting Pod,” 20mm gun, AIM-9 missile, GBU-12 LGB Integration, GBU-38 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) and AGM-65 Maverick missiles.

KAI developed the FA-50 aircraft in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, so it's no wonder we can see the DNA of the US aerospace industry on the fighter aircraft.

In addition, the FA-50 Block 20 will also be equipped with the Air-To-Air Refuelling Probe (AAR Probe) facility for refueling and Link 16 Block Upgrade 2.

The AAR Probe facility will ensure that the FA-50 Block 20 is capable of operating longer and longer.

In addition there are options for future work that can be done in the future as the matter will be upgraded in the current development process by KAI.

Among them, include 300 gallons of External Fuel Tanks and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capabilities in the form of AIM-120 air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM).

A little more improvement and upgrading, the FA-50 Block II aircraft offered by KAI can already be categorized as MRCA (Multi Role Combat Aircraft) aircraft.

The question of the use of Israeli components by the FA-50 Block 20 is also expected to cause many problems as KAI has committed to replace it with the same components made by the United States and South Korea.

The latest variant of the M-346FA according to Leonardo's company, is designed to provide increased capabilities for the military in the field.

Leonardo said the FA (Fighter Attack) variant was offered to meet the needs MUDM it can be assigned to perform various tasks on combat fields such as ground support including air-to-ground, tactical, close water support (CAS) and counter-insurgency (COIN) missions.

The two engines can also be equipped with smart bullets (precision guided munitions –PGM).

In addition, the M-346FA variant was developed to provide training to pilots, air combat, enforcement and control of airspace and tactical monitoring.

The Leonardo company's two-seater variant of the M-346FA also comes with a digital glass cockpit.

In addition, the aircraft also has LCD multi-function displays, head-up display, night vision goggle (NVG), voice command system, self-protection system, helmet-mounted display (HMD) system, navigation and communication as well as traffic collision avoidance system. - DSA

 
Malaysia is the most favorable country to migrate by Indian and Chinese ...:-)

118579545_1002256143559291_727954496796022481_o.png

That allows you to become completely Asia-centric and neutral in your defence ties. :azn:

Can you explain what excellent diplomacy that you think they do ?
They are able to engage all major powers and not taking sides despite a strong trade exposure on both sides of the Pacific and IOR. Malaysians maintain regional peace, engage Pakistan, Arabs, China, India, Russia, etc., while ensuring to put their own narrative in the forefront.

Much like South Korea.
 
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A typo, bro. superiority

Yup, typo

This is new to me that Malaysian Sukhoi is Superiority instead of Multi Role. They cannot do land and naval attack then.

Different with Indonesian Sukhoi that is Multi Role

 
Yup, typo

This is new to me that Malaysian Sukhoi is Superiority instead of Multi Role. They cannot do land and naval attack then.

Different with Indonesian Sukhoi that is Multi Role




The Sukhoi Su-30MKI[a] (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

MKM is very similar to MKI, it's multirole air superiority fighter, I think.


MKM has capability of ground strike.

1647317367810.png




 
For both SU-30MKM and F/A-18D, technically they are all multi-role. However, in Malaysian airforce, they have been given more specific primary mission roles as:-

SU-30MKM - primary mission role is air superiority, but they are also armed with air-to ground guided missiles, same as other variants of SU-30 variants but this would be secondary role in RMAF.

SU-30MKM comes with no attached strings/restriction on custody and use of both BVR and WVR AAMs, thus it is more suitable for air superiority role vs F/A-18D.

US supplied AAMs that came with F/A-18D has strings and restriction on use and custody.

RMAF F/A-18D's primary mission role is marine strike. That is the reason why only F/A-18D two seater was bought, since marine strike missions need a pilot and a weapon officer. Malaysian airforce does not have any single seat F/A-18C.
 
Tonight we celebrate.

Federal Court upholds Najib’s conviction, ex-PM to go to jail

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has affirmed former prime minister Najib Razak’s conviction and sentence in the SRC International case.

This means Najib, the Pekan MP, is set to begin serving his jail term immediately.

On July 28, 2020, Najib was convicted on all charges and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine of RM210 million (47.7 million USD).

 
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 14, 2022 - November 20, 2022

KOREA Aerospace Industries (KAI) has emerged as the front runner to secure a RM4 billion contract to supply the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) with 18 light combat aircraft (LCA), according to sources familiar with the outcome. However, the award is said to have triggered an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), following a complaint by one of the unsuccessful bidders.

The anti-graft body is understood to have opened a case file on the matter based on documents and text messages sighted by The Edge.

MACC declined to comment when contacted.

Meanwhile, caretaker Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein assures that the contract is being handled professionally by those responsible for the multi-billion ringgit deal.

“I am only a caretaker minister now. I am not sure of the details, but let the ministry do their job and they will do it professionally. When the time comes, it will be announced,” he tells The Edge.

The case centres on the international open tender that was called for the procurement of one squadron of military aircraft (18 planes) by RMAF in October 2021.


AA14lEDv.jpg

 
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 14, 2022 - November 20, 2022

KOREA Aerospace Industries (KAI) has emerged as the front runner to secure a RM4 billion contract to supply the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) with 18 light combat aircraft (LCA), according to sources familiar with the outcome. However, the award is said to have triggered an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), following a complaint by one of the unsuccessful bidders.

The anti-graft body is understood to have opened a case file on the matter based on documents and text messages sighted by The Edge.

MACC declined to comment when contacted.

Meanwhile, caretaker Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein assures that the contract is being handled professionally by those responsible for the multi-billion ringgit deal.

“I am only a caretaker minister now. I am not sure of the details, but let the ministry do their job and they will do it professionally. When the time comes, it will be announced,” he tells The Edge.

The case centres on the international open tender that was called for the procurement of one squadron of military aircraft (18 planes) by RMAF in October 2021.


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I suspect, under current administration, the soonest Malaysia will decide to order 18 planes in this tender is 2024 with still KAI FA-50 will likely get selected.
 
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