- Joined
- Nov 24, 2008
- Messages
- 23,837
- Points
- 113
Secondhand Aircraft Eyed To Renew Malaysian Combat Aircraft Program
Malaysia has shifted its ambitions for fighter reequipment to seeking additional, secondhand Boeing F/A-18 Hornets, putting off fulfilling a long-standing requirement for advanced new aircraft until the 2020s. But replacements for jet trainers, to be bought in a separate program, must have high performance, says a Malaysian official.
The Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 is an obvious candidate trainer. For the now-defunct fighter requirement, Malaysia considered the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Saab Gripen C/D and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has suffered from the low efficiency of operating three different fighter types, each in small numbers. Aiming to simplify the fleet, the service has begun exploratory talks with other Hornet operators about buying surplus aircraft, says the official.
Malaysia has eight F/A-18Ds. Credit: Marhalim Abas/AW&ST
“We need to increase our availability and capability,” says the official. “We want to improve the numbers of the same asset and lower maintenance costs.” Poor reliability prompted a decision in 2016 to withdraw one of the three fighter types from service, the Mikoyan MiG-29. The nation also has 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers.
The RMAF has struggled to modernize. The government raised the possibility of buying advanced replacements for the MiG-29s as early as 2005; 18 aircraft were required. But drops in oil and gas prices have hit the economy and budget. Meanwhile, the country’s currency has dropped in value, especially against the U.S. dollar, raising the cost of imported defense equipment.
Malaysia’s eight Hornets are two-seat F/A-18Ds. The RMAF would like to enlarge the unit by 10 fighters to resume full-squadron strength, 18 aircraft, and is open to buying single-seat F/A-18Cs.
“We are not going for a 4.5-generation fighter at the moment,” says the official, referring to such aircraft as candidates for the former requirement. “We are maintaining what we have, upgrading what we have. Buying a 4.5-generation fighter is out of the question, [it’s] beyond what we can afford.”
A top RMAF officer says the 10 additional Hornets would be needed to cover the absence of the MiG-29s,. That fleet was reduced to 10 units from 18, including two trainers, when the decision was made last year to put the survivors into storage. RMAF Chief Gen. Affendi Buang says they could be returned to service if funding becomes available. Senior RMAF officers doubt doing so would be worthwhile, however.
Malaysia has approached Australia and Kuwait about procuring secondhand Hornets, officials say. The Kuwaiti aircraft are closest to Malaysia’s in configuration and have plenty of remaining airframe life. Australia’s Hornets are heavily modified F/A-18A/Bs that have been flying for about 30 years.
Kuwait’s Hornets will not be available until 2021, even if the country agrees to sell them, says the top RMAF officer; so far it has not. The RMAF does not want to wait that long. But it may have no other choice.
Kuwait will replace its 34 Hornets with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and Typhoons over the next four years.
Malaysia’s new plan calls for Hornets and Su-30MKMs to form a Tier 1 fleet of combat aircraft. Following that rationalization, the air force then could take time to consider plans for a combat aircraft that would enter service by 2030, the official says. The timing suggests a procurement program would begin in the mid-2020s.
The Tier 2 combat aircraft would replace trainers of two types—the Leonardo MB-339CM and BAE Systems Hawk Mk. 108—and single-seat, radar-equipped Hawk Mk. 208 light-attack aircraft. One or two squadrons of replacements are needed, says the official.
The replacement type should have one engine and supersonic performance, which would allow it to take on a limited air-policing function, he adds. The air force is studying options and has noted orders for aircraft of the T-50 family by Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. T-50 versions include the TA-50 and FA-50, which have varying degrees of ground-attack capability.
A difficulty is that the TA-50 and FA-50 are fitted with the EL/M-2032 radar from the Israeli company Elta. Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has avoided buying equipment with major components from that country. Fitting the KAI aircraft with another radar would be costly, however. The basic T-50 trainer version has no radar.
The seven MB-339CMs, among eight acquired, are less than 10 years old, but the top RMAF officer says they are proving unreliable. The main problem is that they were fitted with Rolls-Royce Viper engines taken from Malaysia’s former MB-339As, which were delivered in the 1980s. Seventeen Hawks are in service.
Malaysia has shifted its ambitions for fighter reequipment to seeking additional, secondhand Boeing F/A-18 Hornets, putting off fulfilling a long-standing requirement for advanced new aircraft until the 2020s. But replacements for jet trainers, to be bought in a separate program, must have high performance, says a Malaysian official.
The Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 is an obvious candidate trainer. For the now-defunct fighter requirement, Malaysia considered the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Saab Gripen C/D and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has suffered from the low efficiency of operating three different fighter types, each in small numbers. Aiming to simplify the fleet, the service has begun exploratory talks with other Hornet operators about buying surplus aircraft, says the official.
Malaysia has eight F/A-18Ds. Credit: Marhalim Abas/AW&ST
“We need to increase our availability and capability,” says the official. “We want to improve the numbers of the same asset and lower maintenance costs.” Poor reliability prompted a decision in 2016 to withdraw one of the three fighter types from service, the Mikoyan MiG-29. The nation also has 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers.
The RMAF has struggled to modernize. The government raised the possibility of buying advanced replacements for the MiG-29s as early as 2005; 18 aircraft were required. But drops in oil and gas prices have hit the economy and budget. Meanwhile, the country’s currency has dropped in value, especially against the U.S. dollar, raising the cost of imported defense equipment.
Malaysia’s eight Hornets are two-seat F/A-18Ds. The RMAF would like to enlarge the unit by 10 fighters to resume full-squadron strength, 18 aircraft, and is open to buying single-seat F/A-18Cs.
“We are not going for a 4.5-generation fighter at the moment,” says the official, referring to such aircraft as candidates for the former requirement. “We are maintaining what we have, upgrading what we have. Buying a 4.5-generation fighter is out of the question, [it’s] beyond what we can afford.”
A top RMAF officer says the 10 additional Hornets would be needed to cover the absence of the MiG-29s,. That fleet was reduced to 10 units from 18, including two trainers, when the decision was made last year to put the survivors into storage. RMAF Chief Gen. Affendi Buang says they could be returned to service if funding becomes available. Senior RMAF officers doubt doing so would be worthwhile, however.
Malaysia has approached Australia and Kuwait about procuring secondhand Hornets, officials say. The Kuwaiti aircraft are closest to Malaysia’s in configuration and have plenty of remaining airframe life. Australia’s Hornets are heavily modified F/A-18A/Bs that have been flying for about 30 years.
Kuwait’s Hornets will not be available until 2021, even if the country agrees to sell them, says the top RMAF officer; so far it has not. The RMAF does not want to wait that long. But it may have no other choice.
Kuwait will replace its 34 Hornets with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and Typhoons over the next four years.
Malaysia’s new plan calls for Hornets and Su-30MKMs to form a Tier 1 fleet of combat aircraft. Following that rationalization, the air force then could take time to consider plans for a combat aircraft that would enter service by 2030, the official says. The timing suggests a procurement program would begin in the mid-2020s.
The Tier 2 combat aircraft would replace trainers of two types—the Leonardo MB-339CM and BAE Systems Hawk Mk. 108—and single-seat, radar-equipped Hawk Mk. 208 light-attack aircraft. One or two squadrons of replacements are needed, says the official.
The replacement type should have one engine and supersonic performance, which would allow it to take on a limited air-policing function, he adds. The air force is studying options and has noted orders for aircraft of the T-50 family by Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. T-50 versions include the TA-50 and FA-50, which have varying degrees of ground-attack capability.
A difficulty is that the TA-50 and FA-50 are fitted with the EL/M-2032 radar from the Israeli company Elta. Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has avoided buying equipment with major components from that country. Fitting the KAI aircraft with another radar would be costly, however. The basic T-50 trainer version has no radar.
The seven MB-339CMs, among eight acquired, are less than 10 years old, but the top RMAF officer says they are proving unreliable. The main problem is that they were fitted with Rolls-Royce Viper engines taken from Malaysia’s former MB-339As, which were delivered in the 1980s. Seventeen Hawks are in service.
