Malaysia delays and shrinks order for Super Hornet

duotiga83 SG

Budget constraints force revsiion of plans, but Suhkoi Su-30 acquisition moving forward.

Malaysia has reduced and delayed its planned acquitistion of Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets, but appears to be moving forward with a reduced purchase of Suhkoi Su-30s.

Malaysia requested pricing proposal for 18 F/A-18Fs and 18 Su-30s and planned to go forward simultaneously with both deals this year. But industry resources say budget constraints have forced it to revise its request to 12 aircratf of each type, while poliical issues could prompt Malaysia to compete the Suhkoi transaction ahead of long expected Super Hornet purchase.

Budget and politcal ussyes a threaten to delay Malaysia's acquitisation of three or four unspecified airborne early warning and control (AEW & C) aircraft.

US companies fear the Iraq war and its impact on relations between Malaysia and the USA could slow the Super Hornet purchase and other potential acquistition of US equipment. Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has criticised the USA's involovement in Iraq, and politically, it would be diffcult to buy US arms until hostilities fade.

Mahathir visited Embarer last month as aprt of a trade mission to Brazil. Embraer is offering Malaysia EMB-14SSAs with Ericsson Erieye radar. Northrop Grumman is pitching ex-US Navy E-2C Hawkeyes upgraded with technology from newer Hawkeye 2000s and Boeing offered its 737AEW & C.

Sources says Malaysia favours a jet, given its long coastline, but 737 us too costly. Budget constraints could delay a selection until at least 2004

Flight International 15-21 April 2003

35MM Gunner SG

tot da Hornets r manufactured by McDonell Douglas?????

or is tis a diff Hornet in discussion?????

Cool

duotiga83 SG

MDD merge wif Boeing.......

for more info......come here..

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

35MM Gunner SG

oh

well wat eva it is i'm stickin 2 my fave Grumman F-14 Tomcats

Cool

|-|05| SG

Tom cats are old.....
On a note i believe boeing bought over GD MDD and lockheed!!

nWo SG

http://www.bernama.com.my/B2002v2/news.shtml?general/ge0106_10

RMAF Needs Four Aircraft To Bolster Air Defence

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) needs four aircraft to bolster its radar defence system, its chief Gen Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad said Sunday.

"RMAF will propose to the government the type of aircrafts suitable for Malaysia," he said at a media conference after attending a parade held in conjunction with RMAF's 45th anniversary celebration at the Sungai Besi TUDM Base here.

The aircraft would help Malaysia modernise its Air Force, monitor its airspace via the radar system and keep abreast with other developed countries. Among the aircraft considered is the E-2 Hawkeye.

There is no allocation in the Eighth Malaysia Plan to procure the aircraft but RMAF will attempt to purchase them, he said.

Abdullah said 45 years ago, RMAF had only 12 personnel and one aircraft, but now it owned 200 aircraft with 15,000 personnel.

Electronic warfare had developed rapidly and airborne early warning and command aircraft (AWAC) are crucial for the RMAF to monitor the airspace effectively, he said.

The parade included the Air Force College Colours, and the 3rd and 9th squadron fly by involving 22 fighter jets - comprising F/A 18D, Hawk, and the MiG 29N - as well as the CN 235, C130 transport planes and Nuri helicopters. -- BERNAMA

Dorian-X SG

They building up a fleet for their flying circus?

nWo SG

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Frontpage/20030602072526/Article/

RMAF eyeing Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft

Leslie Andres

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1: The Royal Malaysian Air Force hopes to buy four Airborne Warning and
Control System (AWACS) aircraft costing more than RM1 bilion each by 2005.

RMAF chief Jen Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad said today that four was the minimum required to ensure adequate defence surveillance.

He did not rule out the possibility of an early purchase if a deal could be struck involving long-term payments or barter trade.

The AWACS, also known as Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C), can track multiple air and maritime contacts over a vast expanse and is considered a crucial element in air and maritime defence.

The aircraft allows the armed forces to identify and handle possible threats from a distance.

It is one of several components of electronic warfare (EW), considered to be one of the most important schools in military operations today.

"Air superiority is important and with this system the network will be complete.

"An assessment team is looking at all possible aircraft and systems (for the AWACS). We will see which is the most appropriate for us," Abdullah said.

He was attending the RMAF's 45th Air Force Day at the Kuala Lumpur air base in Sungai Besi.

Three types of aircraft are being considered as front runners to supply the RMAF with AWACS capabilities.

The first is the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, currently the favourite of the United States' navy.

A turbo-propeller aircraft, the Hawkeye normally carries a crew of five.

The second is the Boeing 737 AEW&C is equipped with a Multirole Electronically Scanned Array radar. The 737 AEW&C requires a crew of between eight and 12.

The third is the Brazilian-made Embraer EMB-145, which is a variant of its ERJ-145 regional jet.

The EMB-145 is fitted with a Swedish-made Erieye radar. The military variant was developed for Brazil's Sistema de Vigilancia de Amazonia (surveillance system, Amazon region) programme, made up of both airborne and ground-sensor systems designed to monitor activity throughout the Amazon basin.

At today's celebrations, Abdullah took the salute from a parade comprising 11 officers and 202 other ranks led by Lt Kol Mohd Salleh Osman. He also witnessed a fly-past by 25 aircraft comprising the F/A18D Hornet and MiG-29N fighter aircraft, Hawk advanced jet trainers, Pilatus PC-7 trainer aircraft, C-130 Hercules and CN-235 transport aircraft and Nuri and Allouette helicopters.

Abdullah also presented certificates to six air force personnel for outstanding achievements.

nWo SG

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters06-01-200955.asp?reg=PACRIM

Malaysia shopping for 4 AWACS aircraft -report

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 Malaysia plans to buy four ''Airborne Warning and System Control System'' (AWACS) aircraft, costing a total of more than $1 billion, to boost air defence, local media reported on Monday.

An early purchase was possible if the deal could involve long-term payments or barter trade, the New Straits Times daily quoted Malaysian airforce chief Abdullah Ahmad as saying.

AWACS, the world's standard for airborne early warning & control systems, is for surveillance and command as well as control functions for tactical and air defence forces.

''An assessment team is looking at all possible aircraft and systems (for AWACS),'' Abdullah said. ''''We will see which is the most appropriate for us.''

The New Straits Times said three types of aircraft were being considered by the Malaysian airforce, with the front-runner being the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, currently a favourite of the U.S. navy.

The other two are the Boeing 737 AEW&C, also U.S.-made, and the Embraer EMB-145, which comes from Brazil.

Malaysia has boosted defence spending in recent years, allotting billions of dollars on new U.S. F-18 fighters, Russian Sukhoi jets, submarines and Polish tanks among others.

Officials denied the Southeast Asian nation was involved in an arms race, saying the procurements were necessary to replace ageing fleets and counter new challenges in the region.

HARIMAU SG

budget constraints have forced it to revise its request to 12 aircratf of each type[/b]

Flight International aint really right abt their speculation though-cause RMAF do both 18 of the SU30MKM and the FA18F will follow asap.

kenhor SG

I read that Tomcats are actually worthless without their missiles. It has some missle that has a range of 100+km?

But if the yanks sell that plane, they won't sell the missile or the radar so basically, that plane is worthless to everyone except for the USA navy.

Is that right?

|-|05| SG

Ahh yea the Aim-54.....90Nm range...or around 150km.Anyway the F-14 has been out of production for quite some time liao.....gonna be replaced with the F-18's

kenhor SG

Actually, smart of them to reduce the fighers and get the AWACS. They will definately need them to project power into South China Sea.

Next on the list .. refueling aircraft, coast guard ships and ASW helicopters.

They better hope El Nino lasts 2-3 more years ... that way the price of CPO will still be up.

Viper52 SG

Boeing never bought over Lockheed, Lockheed is now known as Lockheed Martin and is formed from Lockheed, Martin-Marietta and GD while the last principal defence contractor in the US is Northrop-Grumman.

Viper52 SG

Nothing has been signed yet. The Su-30MKM deal is currently only a agreement "in-principle" while nothing has been heard of the Super Bug deal other than a notification to Congress that Malaysia intended to buy Super Hornets

Suggest we wait till the contracts are signed before we decide if Flight Int'l is right or wrong shall we?

Viper52 SG

Actually, its more the missile that worthless. The AIM-154 Phoenix is a large terminal active radar guided missile designed to shoot down Soviet multi-engined anti-shipping bombers threatening USN carrier groups with their supersonic AShMs. It is not designed to deal with fast nimble fighters and is an anachronistic dinosaur in todays air combat environment.

As for the Tomcat, it was a good fighter in its day, but its time has come and gone and it should be replaced. Its now too old and too costly to keep in operation and should be retired, although, no offence to the Super Bug, it really leaves quite a bit to be desired as far as replacing the Tomcats capabilities are concerned.

|-|05| SG

oh wait it was North American that was bought over....and Lockheed's commercial department

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

Hmm speaking of US-Malaysia relations. How come Doktor M. says Malaysia reserves the right to say whatever it wants on the US with no need to regard how they would respond but makes a hoo-ha whenever we make our own stands on issues.

Apparently their right to say whatever they want only applies to themselves.

Maybe next time we should use their same logic back on them. Hmm?

|-|05| SG

haah it's called double standard lah dude......everyone does that especially the US

nWo SG

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Columns/20030603081246/Article/

Editorial: An aerial view of national defence

Editorial

June 3: IN modern warfare, firepower alone would make less of a bang without the equally high-powered means to deliver it. And so it is with air-power without Airborne Warning and Control System (Awacs) aircraft.

Defence planners insist on it for maximum effectiveness in deployment and logistics.

But they cost a bomb. The four Awacs aircraft requested by the Royal Malaysian Air Force will cost a total of RM4 billion an amount which has to be weighed against other competing priorities and the country's exposure to external dangers. From the point of view of defence, this may well be money well spent if we are to protect our skies and seas from unfriendly intrusions, including that of piracy. As the air force is buying more advanced aircraft, an Awacs capability will be a necessary enhancement.

However, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in response to the RMAF proposal yesterday that, "There is certainly a need for it in the future but not at the moment. The purchase of such sophisticated aircraft will incur huge expenses as well as the need for proper planning. Therefore it cannot be done hastily. Besides, the Government is not in a position to do so financially now." In these circumstances, land-based radar is the only option even though its range is limited by the earth's curvature. There is still life and sufficient security without Awacs, although Singapore, a tiny and therefore insecure island amid much larger neighbours, has the advanced aircraft.

It is an irony that the best way to maintain peace is to have a credible military force that will deter foreign aggression. In these days of high-tech warfare, a defence force needs to be armed with the latest weapons, because technology does give the military a vital edge in an armed conflict. The reality is that courage and numbers alone are not enough in this era of electronic warfare.

Although Awacs is a necessary part of this process, at this particular moment it does not rate the highest priority.