A few days back, The Edge published this table as an accompaniment to the alleged improper handling of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) tender process made by one of the bidders which had resulted in SPRM opening an investigation case into the allegation. (TheEdgeMarkets)

Putting the allegations aside, let's have a short look at the contenders. Note: I will not discuss the allegations, due to it being currently under investigation.

The Russian Link

At the very start, the government is likely to disregard the two Russian offers, i.e. the MiG35 and the YAK 130 / M346. The global sanction on Russian entities should be a discouraging factor. Even if the Russians managed to deliver the package, there will be no guarantee that they will be able to deliver the supporting logistics (parts, armaments). 

It should be pointed out that the M346 is not Russian, but Italian Aermacchi which had jointly developed the YAK 130 with Yakovlev. The Italian firm is now part of Leonardo. If the Italian version is offered, the contender might be able to avoid the sanction predicament. 

Experimental Hurjet

The Turkish Hurjet has yet to take to the sky, as far as I am aware. In fact, when it was first announced that Malaysia was interested, they were showcased using mock-ups of the proposed design. Even if it is the cheapest of the 6, this is far too risky. Systems and platforms that undergo development sometimes take decades before they could even be viable. Therefore, it would likely face the chop. Furthermore, a certain political figure that was said to have supported this project is no longer in the picture.

Indian Tejas

While Indian media had made various claims before that Malaysia have expressed interest in the plane, it seemed more like clapping hands with one hand tied behind the back. Again, there were rumours of certain political support, though I am unsure who was said to have backed the project.

Earlier when I mentioned the risk of getting Hurjet, that platforms may go under decades of the development cycle, Tejas is one of the clear examples of this. First conceived in the 1980s (ThePrint), it was said that the Indian Government had offered the jets as part of a package to increase the import of our palm oil. 

One thing is for sure, the Indian Air Force only operates 40 of these jets at the moment (The EurAsian Times). The low number brings into question if the jet is as capable as it is claimed to be, and the additional issue of logistics and pricing, as this points to a much smaller production capacity and possibly high price for parts due to lack of economies of scale.

China/Pakistan's JF17B

If the number of operational aircraft is the issue, then JF17B is probably a good answer to the RMAF needs. Especially considering that the JF17 variant is allegedly fast becoming the most-sold Chinese-Pakistani-designed combat aircraft in the world with an expected total of more than 200 units (Insider).

However, the Chinese-Pakistani-made jets come with several concerns. 

The first is that China and Malaysia are unfortunately having maritime border disputes. While the disputes over the South China Sea and contention over the 9-dash-line did not boil openly before, this remains a risky choice as China would know the plane's capabilities upfront. And being an export variant, it would not be a surprise if it is further downgraded to ensure that we would not be able to challenge them in the event of a conflict breaking out.

The second concern is the airworthiness of the Chinese-made jets. Recently, the Myanmar Air Force which operates 16 units of JF17B grounded the planes due to safety concerns. (Defence Security Asia)

K-Pop Plane

And now that leaves us with South Korean FA50. The plane was popularised in the South Korean movie RTB showing it being capable to go head-to-head with the North Korean-operated MiG29. But we are not in the movie realm, so we need something more solid.

The first plus point for the jet is its engine. It uses the same engine as the venerable FA18D Hornets currently operated by RMAF. So there will be some kind of institutional knowledge with regard to the plane. Though it must be pointed out that Tejas also have the same advantage.

While no weapon suite is mentioned, it is likely to be able to operate any type of western weapon suite that the Hornet is currently using, with South Korea being a key US ally. 

Another plus point is that the total variants in operation are currently around 200 units. The Ukrainian war is a lesson learnt, whereby the Ukrainian Air Force was able to reconstitute part of their combat formation with donated units from other former operators of Soviet-era jets (Forbes). This too should be considered in our equation. Though it must be pointed out that two of the current operators too have a border dispute with us. 

One negative point about this jet though is that we might have missed the opportunity to receive the jet earlier even if we buy it now. Poland had placed orders for 48 units recently (DefenseNews). And unless South Korea increased its production capacity, it will take time before we can get the planes. 

Other Possibility

With the current Prime Minister known to be friendly to the US, this might be the way for us to go too. Though this might also mean all the current contenders would be cut off and replaced with something else from the US).

And that is my take on the list of contenders.

Do We Really Need New Jets?

As much as I would love to say no, unfortunately, it is something that we can't avoid having. Si vis pacem, para bellum. To pursue peace, you must be ready for war. With the RMAF currently operating only 8 US-made FA18D Hornets, 18 Russian-made SU30MKM, and a small and soon-to-be obsolete British-made Hawk 208/108 series fleet, we are unfortunately in dire need to arm our Air Force with the tooth. And sufficient numbers are required, i.e. not some token numbers that would only see the units being pushed over the limit resulting in the planes reaching end-of-life far sooner than expected. 

Danny Liew is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.

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