Malaysia’s Long Wait for Super Hornets Continues
By JASBIR SINGH, KUALA LUMPUR
Posted 01/15/07 13:55
One of the most watched modernization programs in Malaysia — the proposed replacement of the Royal Malaysian Air Force F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets with the newer F/A-18F Super Hornets — remains in limbo because of other funding priorities, including adding new capabilities for the Navy and Army.
Malaysia has had its eight F/A-18Ds since 1997, and began discussions with Boeing about six years ago on acquiring F/A-18Fs, yet the talks have been fruitless.
The program remains stuck on the Air Force’s wish list due to funding pressures caused by the armed forces’ multibillion-dollar equipment renewal program implemented over the past few years. When asked earlier this year, the now-retired Air Force chief, Gen. Nik Ismail Nik Mohamed, said the service was committed to acquiring the Super Hornet, but only when funding becomes available.
A current cost estimate for the potential Super Hornet buy is not available. However, the government already has spent more than 15 billion Malaysian ringgit ($4.3 billion) this decade on major equipment purchases, and has allocated a total of 17 billion ringgit in its current five-year development plan for defense procurement.
During this time, the Malaysian government signed up to purchase, among other equipment, 48 PT-91M tanks from Poland’s Bumar Group to set up a tank division, two new Scorpene and one used Agosta 90 submarines, a squadron of Su-30MkM fighter jets from Russia and 11 Agusta A-109 light observation helicopters.
The submarine deal was worth 3.5 billion ringgit, while the tanks and associated equipment cost about $275 million. The A-109 helicopters were purchased for about $70 million, and the Su-30MkM deal was worth about $900 million.
The A-109 helicopters have entered into service and tank deliveries will begin this year.
Deliveries of 18 Su-30MkM multirole fighters will begin this year, to coincide with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition in December. The remaining aircraft will enter into service over the next two years. Preparations also are being made to receive the submarines from France in 2009.
These investments do not include money spent on modernizing the armed forces as a whole, or long-overdue improvements to infrastructure.
Aside from having to pay for the new equipment, the Malaysian Armed Forces also have incurred large costs associated with setting up the infrastructure for these new assets.
The military has never operated tanks or submarines, and is spending large sums to provide the training and infrastructure needed to support the services.
Similarly, the Air Force has had to spend money to modernize an airbase to house the Su-30MkMs, put up the necessary supporting infrastructure, and train personnel to operate and support the aircraft.
It appears that the rising costs involved in acquiring and operating these three major assets is sinking other modernization programs, Defence Ministry and Air Force sources said.
For the Air Force, the recent multimillion-dollar expenditure to overhaul MiG-29N fighters and purchase eight Aermacchi MB-339CDs and 10 PC-7 MkII Turbo Trainer Aircraft is stretching its budget, the source said.
The Aermacchi and PC-7 trainers have been purchased to meet urgent Air Force needs to train more pilots and replace aircraft lost to crashes. Several smaller acquisition programs related to the Su-30MkM purchase are still pending and need funding allocations.
There also have been media reports that the Air Force will mothball its MiG-29N fleet to free fighter pilots to operate the Su-30MkMs. However, Defense Minister Najib Razak has denied that the MiG-29s will be retired and said additional pilots will be trained to meet requirements.
According to Air Force sources, the F/A-18D Hornet has served well and the service is committed to upgrading the aircraft to the newer versions.
There are plans to modernize the current fleet, pending funding availability. Until then, and the full induction of the Su-30MkM into the force, the Hornets will remain the main front-line aircraft for the Air Force.
However, new money to acquire the Super Hornets may come by the end of the decade at the earliest, the ministry and service sources said.
When funding to acquire the aircraft becomes available, the service will have to enter into fresh negotiations with Boeing, further delaying the acquisition of the replacement aircraft.
Faced with this scenario, the Air Force must move toward modernizing some aspects of the Hornets to maintain that capability. There also is interest in achieving interoperability with the Su-30MkMs and basic network-centric capability.
The Air Force wants to ensure that the two aircraft are able to talk to each other and exchange data. The plan is to install data links on board the Su-30MkM to allow it to communicate with other aircraft.
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