LANGKAWI: All Over the Place. The budget crunch is forcing the RMAF to relook its plans and there is a possibility it may have to extend the life of its Mig-29 Fulcrum fleet.
RMAF chief Jen Affendi Buang told reporters yesterday that every possibility were being looked at as the Fulcrum replacement program was not moving for the time being.
Upgrading the Fulcrum was a possibility, he said without giving any timelines when a decision will be made.
Speaking earlier, Defence Minister DS Hishammuddin Hussein refused to say outright that either the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale have been down selected for the MRCA program.
He also said no contract signing for the MRCA was expected during the official state visit of French President Francois Hollande visit next week.
Pressed further, Hishammuddin asked back which is better Typhoon or Rafale or schools?
I replied F35, please.
*edited to add new lines from PC.
– Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (53)
It is about time that the air force to wake up from its mrca wet dream and face the reality, that the goverment cannot afford the toys it wanted.
The air force still has potent high end fighters in the shape of Su-30MKM and the night strike hornets, which could still be among the most advanced in the south east asia in the foreseeable future. What it needs is an affordable fighter that is capable to do what the mig-29 and f-5e is doing in the air force: QRA and air defence.
It is time to seriously look at the KAI FA-50 and TA-50 to replace the capability of not just the mig-29 and f-5e; but for the hawks and training functions of the MB-339CM also. This is a real chance for the air force to reduce the number of fighter platforms to just 3 and the engine family to just 2 (the KAI FA-50 golden eagle uses similar engines to the hornets)
Go for super hornet instead of expensive european birds
If they want to upgrade Mig-29 for extension then they better to have a right contractor to replace it spare part. Reason they decomissioned Mig-29 because it lacks of spare part which mean old spare parts doesn't produce much anymore.
As expected. Recycling reason from the gov, but what to do. For RMAF, they should stop dreaming and face reality just like ... Said. Gov don't have money to spend for our ATM but they can spend multi billion for mega project that we as rakyat didn't know what are the benefits for us and our next generation. But some *idiot* politicians keep saying that is for rakyat benefits.
Why would the air force settle for rubbish plane when they can get a better one
sometimes its better to have people who actually know their stuff to decide than some smartass knowitall to argue about anything he didn't know his salt worth
Maybe just buy Mwari or Scorpion. 'Benign' mission aircraft cukup la.
Unless RMAF can propose a feasible study plan what to improve on like the Navy 15 to 5 plan. Adding another brand new aircraft into the inventory will further strain the budgets
Though i would rather have the RMAF improve current asset capability.. Looking at awacs is one possibility and maybe getting more MKM and F18.
BTW in LIMA 2017,any talk on awacs for malaysia
I guess the RMAF asset is good enough for the task at hand. No need to spend billions now. We already completed some modernization work with new choppers, airfields, A400, anti aircraft missiles, radar systems plus all the conversion of Nuri. The tax level is currently high for the rakyat. Might as well wait till oil price is above 80 USD per barrel then maybe we can have a good chance of reasonably good platform. Small, reliable and modern airforce is what we should aim for.
Hello Marhalim.Your answer for F-35 may be an expensive answer.Even Singapore which participated in the development is finding it hard to crunch the F-35.It is in economic slowdown.
Typhoon is good as a fuel guzzer .In the place where I live there are a few Hummers that people no longer drive but sitting in the used car showrooms. Good for showing off more a less a 4 WD.That is all. Tunjuk-tunjuk eje!.
I agree with what ... says:
March 25, 2017 at 11:11 am
It is about time that the RMAF to wake up from its MRCA wet dream and face the reality, that the government cannot afford the toys it wanted.
This is a real chance for the air force to reduce the number of fighter platforms to just 3 and the engine family to just 2 (the KAI FA-50 golden eagle uses similar engines to the Hornets).
SU-30 MKM are very good and similar to the F-15 but expensive in fuel, maintenance, and flying.
SELAMAT jalan, Fulcrum?
May be not. Based on the economic conditions, and the crude oil prices, the planes will still fly.We know the planes will be used just like the F5E Tiger II with a smaller numbers.It will be grounded if it dropped out of the sky like the A4 Skyhawks.
Reply
I was trying not to insult anyone
It has all to do with actual operational requirements and nothing to do with ''wet dreams''. On paper its fine to say that that the RMAF should settle for a lower cost, lightweight fighter but the hard reality is that getting anything other than a full fledged MRCA would mean that the RMAF will not have something that fully fulfills its requirements - period/full stop. As I've stated previously it is the RMAF's job to make a case for it's requirements and it's the government's duty of care to provide funding. Just because the RMAF continues to make a case for MRCAs doesn't mean it's inflexible or has no Plan B. As it stands the government has agreed in principle to MRCAs; the question of when depends on funding but the government has not indicated that funding will not be available in the near future.
Looking at things from a wider perspective the RMAF is extremely aware that settling for something other than a full fledged MRCA could mean an even longer wait for MRCAs; even at a later time when funding is available as the pen pushers at the Finance Ministry are always looking for excuses not to justify funding. Also, one should not read too much into what the RMAF said about maybe having no alternative but to upgrade the Fulcrums. Its also not as if upgrading the Fulcrums is risk free; granted compromises will have to be met but the fact remains that upgrading the Fulcrums also has its share of penalties. Read between the lines it could be a subtle message as to how vital it is to fulfill the requirement and that time is not n our side.
No the MKMs and Hornets are not ''the most advanced in the south east asia in the foreseeable future'' - that time has come and past. There are other fighters with better performing sensors/electronics and who - more importantly - benefit from the fact that they're networked; in contrast to the RMAF which is still largely a platform centric air arm.