It's confirmed. After years of dithering, false starts, and go-no-gos, the much-anticipated deal to acquire surplus Kuwaiti Air Force (KAF) F/A-18C/Ds to bolster the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s original fleet of eight Hornet Ds is now off.
Sources tell Twentytwo13 that the deal is dead in the water, adding that the justifications for the decision are complex – and in many ways, inevitable.
For one, the timeline itself was fraught with uncertainty. Kuwait’s transition to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet has slipped repeatedly. On July 14, Twentytwo13 reported that the idea of buying the Kuwaiti Hornets might not be the best option for several reasons.
The proposal first surfaced in 2017, when Kuwait announced plans to re-equip its fighter fleet with 28 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets (known as “Rhinos”) and a similar number of Tranche 3 Eurofighter Typhoons to replace its legacy Hornets, acquired in 1992.
The Rhinos were originally scheduled for delivery in 2021, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused delays. Under the revised timeline, Kuwait is set to receive its Super Hornets in 2026. Even that now looks uncertain. Twentytwo13 understands that the RMAF would only take delivery of the Kuwaiti legacy Hornets after all the Rhinos had been handed over.
That, however, depends on several moving parts.
The US Navy currently has 76 F/A-18E/Fs on order with Boeing as attrition replacements – aircraft meant to replace lost airframes and sustain fleet strength. These jets are essential for preserving readiness within the US Navy as older aircraft are retired.
In March 2024, Boeing received a US$1.1 billion contract for 17 new-build Block III Super Hornets – five F/A-18Es and 12 F/A-18Fs – under Production Lots 46 and 47, with delivery to US Navy strike fighter squadrons expected between late 2026 and early 2027.
Congress had earlier approved funding for 20 additional Super Hornets in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, but the final contract was delayed by prolonged negotiations over data rights and terms. Once contracted, these aircraft are also scheduled for delivery by 2027.
Because the US Navy’s needs take precedence, any slippage in its contract timeline could further delay Kuwait’s Super Hornet deliveries – and in turn, Malaysia’s acquisition of the legacy Hornets from KAF stocks.
Adding to the complications, squadrons typically require a year to reach initial operational capability (IOC) and another to achieve full operational capability (FOC). If the KAF receives its Super Hornets in 2026, the RMAF is unlikely to see the legacy Hornets before 2027.
Given that the RMAF plans to retire its Hornet fleet between 2032 and 2035, Malaysia would only have about eight years of use from the ex-Kuwaiti jets.
Then there are the integration challenges. The ex-Kuwaiti Hornets operate on a different software configuration – SCS25XK. The RMAF recently upgraded its Hornets to the SCS29C standard. Aligning the KAF jets with the RMAF fleet would require a costly upgrade, estimated at roughly US$4 million per aircraft and more than a year of software development. Multiplied across potentially 33 jets, the cost quickly becomes prohibitive. Worse, procurement could face significant delays due to contractual bottlenecks between Boeing and one of its vendors, Rohde & Schwarz of Germany. It would also take nine months to a year to retrofit each of the 33 ex-KAF aircraft.
Even if the upgrade path were secured, logistics would present another headache. Shipping dozens of unserviceable airframes halfway across the world for preservation while awaiting systems development – a wait that could stretch from six months to a year – would be a logistical and financial nightmare due to storage costs.
The sustainability of support is another red flag. Twentytwo13 understands that China Lake’s Advanced Weapons Laboratory (AWL), the key support provider for these legacy Hornets, is downsizing its capacity, with no long-term commitments for continued employment or support.
The AWL at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is a premier US Navy research facility dedicated to developing and testing advanced weapons systems. It provides highly secure desert ranges for live-fire exercises and experimentation.
The downsizing at AWL means that even if Malaysia opted for either SCS25XM or SCS29C, the risk of delays and lack of spares would loom large. By as early as 2028, the RMAF could be facing severe shortages of parts and servicing options, locking the air force into dependence on costly US-based MRO providers.
All this for aircraft already more than three decades old. While the airframes have relatively low flying hours, they remain structurally fatigued and technologically outdated. Unlike the RMAF’s upgraded Hornets, which boast AN/APG-73 radars, Link-16 datalinks, and advanced targeting pods, the Kuwaiti jets still run on the original AN/APG-65 radar – a relic by today’s standards. Bringing them up to the RMAF’s ‘29C’ standard would require massive investment, time, and effort.
Critics also point to the bigger picture. Proceeding with the deal now risks diverting precious funds away from the RMAF’s long-term CAP55 modernisation roadmap. Instead of funnelling hundreds of millions of ringgit into dated fighters with limited lifespan, analysts argue that Malaysia would be better off investing directly in newer-generation multirole combat aircraft that can serve into the 2040s and beyond.
As one defence source put it: “There’s no real return on investment here. By the time the ex-Kuwaiti Hornets arrive and are made operational, they’ll be a few short years away from being phased out. That’s just a stopgap, not a real solution. An extremely costly stopgap with no real ROI.”
With regional air forces rapidly inducting fifth-generation fighters and advanced platforms, the RMAF cannot afford to be saddled with expensive, outdated jets that risk becoming a burden rather than a boost. The decision to walk away from the deal, though belated, may well be the more prudent move – a recognition that Malaysia’s limited defence ringgit should be spent on future-proofing, not chasing legacy.
Main image: An F/A-18D Hornet pilot of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) conducts a preflight walk-around before launching on a sortie - Royal Malaysian Air Force Facebook.