MALAYSIA MUST DECIDE WHICH AIRCRAFT TO ORDER
At present, the RMAF operates seven US-made F/A-18 Hornets (delivered in 1997), 18 Russian-made Su-30MKM Flankers (delivered in 2009) and 18 UK-made Hawk fighters (delivered in 1995). All three planes are due for retirement by 2040.
The Kuwaiti Hornets were meant as a stopgap measure while Malaysia decided on a new aircraft. That decision will now have to be expedited.
Kuala Lumpur has two choices: It could order a cheaper fourth generation (non-stealthy) jet, as Thailand and the Philippines have, or a much more expensive, state-of-the-art fifth-generation stealth fighter like its neighbours Singapore and Indonesia.
According to Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, the government plans to equip the RMAF with fifth-generation fighters by 2040. Given the limited choices available, the question here is which one.
America’s F-35 Lightning II is tried and tested, but expensive and politically toxic given Washington’s support for Israel over its invasion of Gaza which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has condemned.
China produces two kinds of stealth fighter. The J-20 Chengdu is not for sale but the J-35 Shenyang is. But as Malaysia is locked in an increasingly tense maritime territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea, this more or less rules out the J-35.
Russia is an option, but not a strong one. Moscow has been promoting its Su-57 Felon for export. But the Su-57 has serious problems. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Sukhoi struggled to put the aircraft into serial production (only two dozen have been built since 2020). The problem has been exacerbated by the tightening of Western sanctions and export controls.
Besides, Russian fast jets have a poor reputation in Malaysia. The RMAF retired its fleet of MiG-29s (bought only a few years before the Hornets) early due to operational problems and has had to turn to India to keep its Su-30MKM Flankers airworthy.
