SHAH ALAM: RMAF has sent a second leased AW139 helicopter to the Kuching airbase as part of the No 3 Skuadron detachment there. Tail number M104-05 arrived at Kuching on January 20, a RMAF release on January 21, stated.
Based on the release, it is likely that the detachment will be permanent and all four leased AW139s will be in Kuching eventually. It is likely that No 7 Skuadron which used to be operate in Kuching will be revived for that role. The other two AW139s leased from Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd will likely remain in Butterworth until the leased AW149s are put into service.
The flight to Kuching was flown by Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd pilot Captain Anuar Sungkanah and No 3 Skuadron executive officer Mej Mohd Izzat bin Zakaria. The squadron chief quartermaster Warrant Officer One Hong Kim Soon was the third crew member.
The release did not say why the Weststar Aviation pilot was involved in the flight, but I believed that it is due insurance requirements as the route took them over the South China Sea and two foreign countries – Indonesia and Singapore. Despite the military serial, the aircraft remained a civil registered aircraft.
𝐏𝐄𝐒𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐓 𝐊𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐀 𝐀𝐖 𝟏𝟑𝟗 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐁𝐀 𝐃𝐈 𝐏𝐔 𝐊𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐀𝐆𝐈 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐈 𝐔𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐃𝐈 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐀 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐔𝐑
KUCHING, 20 Januari 2025 – Pesawat kedua AW 139 (M104-05) selamat tiba di Pangkalan Udara Kuching bagi pengoperasian di detasmen No 3 Skuadron. Helikopter AW 139 ini merupakan aset mobiliti yang digunakan oleh TUDM melalui kaedah sewaan menggunakan konsep Government Operate, Company Own and Maintain (GOCOM) dari pihak Weststar Aviation Services Sdn. Bhd.
Dengan penambahan 4 buah pesawat baru AW 139 ini di Pangkalan Udara Kuching nanti, ia dapat meningkatkan keupayaan TUDM di Malaysia Timur dalam melaksanakan operasi seperti Air Logistic Support and Resupply Flight, Military and Civil Communication Flight, Helicopter Insertion Extraction (HIE), Freefall, Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC), Casualty Evacuation (CASEVAC), Body Evacuation (BODEVAC), Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) dan Deck Landing.
Majlis Penerimaan Pesawat Kedua AW 139 (M104-05) telah disempurnakan oleh Komander Pangkalan Udara Kuching, Kol Yusrizal bin Zain TUDM di Hangar detasmen No 3 Skuadron. Pesawat tersebut telah diterbangkan oleh Juruterbang Weststar Aviation Services Sdn. Bhd. (WASSB), Capt Anuar bin Sungkanah dan Pegawai Eksekutif No 3 Skuadron, Mej Mohd Izzat bin Zakaria TUDM. Turut membantu dalam penerbangan tersebut Ketua Kuartermaster Udara No 3 Skuadron, PW U I Hong Kim Soon.
The No 3 Skuadron detachment first left for Kuching in November. Thirty-six personnel from squadron – 18 officers and 18 other ranks – led by Mejar M. Khairul Azwan Ismail were selected as the first group to operate the AW 139 helicopter in East Malaysia, according to a posting by RMAF on its Facebook page on November 26. It is likely the first AW139 helicopter was flown to Kuching at that time.
— Malaysian Defence
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The question is
If there is so many restrictions due to insurance requirements, what will those RM16.5 billion leased helicopters be allowed to do anyway?
Wait a minute
serial number M104-05??
that means this is a new helicopter not related at all to the original 4 AW139 TUDM lease for 3 Skuadron Butterworth.
Does this mean
a) total lease of AW139 for 3 Skuadron is increased from 4 helicopters to 8 helicopters? (4 butterworth, 4 Kuching?)
b) there is no mention of additional AW139 lease for TUDM previously. so is this something related to the RM16.5 billion lease? or something totally unrelated?
Okay
More digging on this issue
1) Seems confirm that there will be 4x AW139 at Kuching, all 4 a new contract to the initial 4 now based at Butterworth
” Penambahan empat (4) pesawat yang baru dalam inventori TUDM ini adalah merupakan kesinambungan projek sewaan helikopter utiliti menggunapakai konsep Government Operate, Company Own and Maintain (GOCOM) sepertimana yang telah dilaksanakan di No 3 Skn, PU Butterworth. ”
2) The 1st helicopter sent to Kuching is serial number M104-06 on 2-December-2024
https://www.airforce.mil.my/images/SEK_D/2.BERITA_SEMASA/2024_BERITA_SEMASA/DIS/KUC_2DIS/WhatsApp_Image_2024-12-23_at_22456_PM_1.jpeg
That means all helicopters sent to Kuching is not the same one currently in Butterworth. Current AW139 serials now with TUDM :
1) M104-01 – Butterworth
2) M104-02 – Butterworth
3) M104-03 – Butterworth
4) M104-04 – Butterworth
5) M104-05 – Kuching
6) M104-06 – Kuching
It also means that the next 2 AW139 for Kuching would be M104-07 and M104-08
Yes, you are right, I missed that as I was in a hurry this morning.
So,it will be 8 AW139 instead of 4 in RMAF. Even it is lease but the more, the merrier.
So AW-149 is when?
Current timeline of these additional AW139 lease for 3 Skuadron detachment Kuching
1) 1st transfer of personnel and ground support equipment by C-130H – 26 November 2024
2) 1st AW139 flown to Kuching. Serial M104-06 – 2 December 2024
3) 2nd AW139 flown to Kuching. Serial M104-05 – 21 January 2025
“leased helicopters be allowed to do anyway?”
Its likely their allowed to do the length & breath of whatever currently are allowed for civvie registered chopper. Meaning, whatever thats covered by insurance. Meaning no unnecessary risk like going into conflict zones, or carrying highrisk items like weapons & explosives.
Off topic
On the TUDM Sukhoi SU-30MKM SLEP program.
Thanks to the buntings at the event, list and date of the SLEP completion for each airframe is available. Worryingly up to now, only 50% of our SU-30MKM fleet has gone through 1500 Hours / 10 year Overhaul process. Currently from the available data,the overhaul output is only about 2 aircraft per year. If it continues like this, the full fleet overhaul can only be completed in 2029, which is more than a decade from the actual 10 year expiry date (around 2017/2018), and concurrently the 1st aircraft that had the SLEP, needs to have its second SLEP in 2029!!! So the SLEP will be a neverending process.
SU-30MKM SLEP
1) M52-11 20/3/2019
2) M52-16 20/7/2021
3) M52-04 23/11/2021
4) M52-07 29/3/2022
5) M52-05 14/3/2023
6) M52-06 28/8/2023
7) M52-03 26/5/2024
8) M52-10 17/7/2024
9) M52-01 30/8/2024
Not yet SLEP / in-process
1) M52-02
2) M52-08
3) M52-09
4) M52-12
5) M52-13
6) M52-14
7) M52-15
8) M52-17
9) M52-18 – undergoing SLEP as per 23/1/2024
Apart from the technical reasons, they also has to deal with the fact that the US sanctions against Russia meant that payment needed to be done creatively.