SHAH ALAM: Eagles, Typhoons or Tornados? Or none of the above? Defence Minister DS Hishammuddin Hussein was quoted as saying that Malaysia is looking into the possibility buying “excess” Saudi aeroplanes and helicopters.
He did not identify the actual type or numbers apart from saying that he will need to talk further with his Saudi counterpart for the final details. He told this to reporters after sending off King Salman Abdulaziz AlSaud of Saudi Arabia at the Bunga Raya Complex Wednesday. The Saudi King was in Malaysia for a four-day state visit.
Hishammuddin said the possible deal for excess Saudi aircraft – fighters for RMAF and helicopters for the Army Air Wing – was part of the wide-ranging military collaboration agreed upon during the state visit. The ministry will also look into getting other assets which are suitable for the Malaysian armed forces.
Malaysia and Saudi armed forces will conduct bilateral training and exercises as part of the collaboration.
According to him, Malaysia will offer submarine training to Saudi Navy personnel at the RMN’s base at Teluk Sepanggar, Sabah as part of the collaboration. Saudi Navy is expected to induct submarines into its fleet in the future, Hishammuddin said. The collaboration however will not involved Malaysian soldiers in the current Yemeni conflict.
However, a small number of Malaysian soldiers will be attached to the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition headquarters in Riyadh.
At the moment, I have no idea what aircraft had been offered to Malaysia by the Saudis. As it is RMAF and Royal Saudi Air Force operates a number of similar aircraft, from Hercules to Hawks. We also operate Blackhawks and Cougar helicopters as does the RSAF.
I believed we do not need extra Hercules while the Saudi’s Hawks are older than ours. They are getting new Hawks, of course, but again if they retire the old ones, it not will be very worthwhile to take over them. (the old Hawks).
What they have in excess are F-15s, Cs of course, as they are getting new Strike Eagles as well as upgrading their old ones to the same standard. They also have around 70 Eurofighter Typhoons with the possibility of ordering 24 or 48 brand new ones.
Will they offer the Cs or Typhoon or even the 80 Panavia Tornados which have been in service since the 1990s? Your guess is as good as mine! And what about our budget crunch which forced the cancellation of the purchase of the Brunei Blackhawks and delayed the order for the M109 SPH?
I am not sure how this will play out but you are all aware Saudi Arabia is a much richer country than us so it can subsidise the cost of upgrading or refurbish the aircraft we want especially with the price of oil going north.
For the record, RMAF does not want any other aircraft – even stop gap measures – for its MRCA requirement. It wants the aircraft it had selected though it did not mention the name, according to written answers to questions sent to the air force ahead of LIMA 17.
For the record, Hishammuddin has said that the MRCA has been down selected to either the Typhoon or Rafale. However, the economic conditions meant that an order will only be made in 2020.
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (29)
According to Wiki; RSAF has got 78 F15D (2 seat) model. Since C model is single seat, it is my personal opinion, RMAF should get 24 of the D model from RSAF.
Else, go with Typhoon T2 which RSAF has got 48 in service at the moment.
I bet on Tornado, their order on Typhoon perhaps to replace this jet..
The only fighters saudi is selling right now is the retired F-5E's
Helicopters? They haven't retired any current types yet. The only answer would be the transfer of current operational aircrafts. Saudi has a history of sponsoring arms to friendly muslim countries. The Egyptian buy of Mistral LPD and Rafales are partly financed by them, as is a billion euro weapons buy for lebanon (which was cancelled halfway through).
Possible used items? emm...
Armor
M113 APC
M109 SPH
Helicopters
UH-60 Blackhawk
AH-64 apaches??
AS-61 Silver (same as our nuri)
Fighters
the only possible one is the transfer of some typhoons to malaysia.
Hawks? they are purely trainer versions
Tornados? specialized strike versions. The ADV version is retired as no longer suppored by the manufacturer
F-15? Need US (aka Trump) approval, very expensive to operate.
Or...
What I personally prefer... is for Saudi to transfer a few typhoon to Kuwait as a return for them to transfer all (36-38) of their legacy hornets to Malaysia. A tecnically indirect help from the saudis.
But if you get typhoons from Saudi (as the TUDM prefers i suppose), you will be directly indebted to saudi, and any future wars started by the saudis we will have no choice but to join their coalition.
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RMAF prefers the other one though they realised the politicians want the other one
Saudi have 100 +++ F5E
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Excess does not necessarily mean retired
Congress wouldn't allow Saudi sell it's F-15 to Malaysia because some 'regional balance' issue. Typhoon and Rafale are only option left for RMAF even budget crunch.
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How do you know Congress won't sell us Eagles? You work on Capitol Hill?
I wouldn't be too literal with the phrase "aeroplanes and helicopters." It might not have been that carefully spoken.
Seeing that we have no budget for a few howitzers, it's hard to see how we can afford any high performance aircraft right now. The Eagle and Tornado are expensive to operate, and will endanger the chance of the RMAF getting its choice which is much more high tech and flexible. It's not surprising the RMAF is not interested. That leaves the Typhoon but I doubt the Saudis are letting them go.
I also wonder about buying used helicopters. These will cost money to bring into service. And don't we have excess Nuris with plenty of hours remaining that are kept in storage?
In any case, there is nothing good that can come out of wahabbis having any influence over us.
I dun think they will offer Eagle..& it also not easy to get it because still need USA approval.
hope Saudi will help us getting Kuwait hornet rather than typhoons. in this economy second hand is better than nothing at all.
Absolutely nothing wrong with 2nd hand stuff that have been well maintained, from Japanese OPVs to US SPH or Saudi aircraft.
Even if the F-15 is offered, there is no reason the US will veto that, considering the small numbers anyway.
Looks like a win-win situation.