Early last week, tragedy struck the KD Rajawali of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) as two RMN helicopters collided while undergoing a flypast manoeuvre training at RMN Lumut Navy Base. Both helicopters crashed, with all ten hands onboard lost.
After the crash, the Ministry of Defence and RMN Command decided to cancel the celebration for the Navy's 90th anniversary.
The tragedy also caused the Navy to lose two helicopters, one an AS555 Eurocopter Fennec from 502nd Naval Air Wing and another a Leonardo AW139 (HOM - Helikopter Operasi Maritim or Maritime Operation Helicopter) from 503rd Naval Air Wing, with both air wings under the command of KD Rajawali.
The Navy has since announced the formation of a Board of Inquiry to investigate the cause of the tragic collision.
Operational History
KD Rajawali currently operates three Naval Air Wing squadrons; 501st, 502nd, and 503rd.
501st Naval Air Wing
The 501st operates Agusta Westland Super Lynx Mk 100 helicopters. The Navy procured six of these helicopters back in 2003 as part of the helicopter air wing to support the Navy's Kedah class NGPV patrol vessel. The helicopters are armed with Sea Skua surface skimming missiles, providing the Navy with beyond-horizon anti-ship capability.
The helicopters were part of the Task Force that participated in the Ops Fajar (Dawn Operation) in the Gulf of Aden in 2008.
In 2018, the Navy received recognition from Leonardo (in 2016, Italy's Leonardo merged the UK's Agusta Westland Helicopters into Leonardo) for the Navy's capabilities of operating the helicopters safely, reaching a hallmark of 100,000 flight hours.
While the 501st Naval Air Wing had performed excellently with the Super Lynx Mk100, there is a question on the operational service left for the Super Lynx. The first RMN Super Lynx entered into service in 2003, marking 2024 as the 21st year in service.
In 2023, the Navy announced they plan to replace the Super Lynx with an undisclosed helicopter with enhanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities in 2026.
502nd Naval Air Wing
The 502nd Naval Air Wing operates six French-made Eurocopter AS555 Fennec helicopters. At the time of this writing, only four remain operational, with one (tail number M502-03) severely damaged in a controlled landing in 2021 in Lumut Naval Base, while the M502-06 was involved in the tragic collision last week).
The AS555 Fennec began its service in 2004 under lease.
From 2008 to at least 2013 (no exact date to the discontinuation of Ops Fajar), the squadron participated in Ops Fajar in the Gulf of Aden as part of an international anti-piracy coalition.
In 2011, Lt (Navy) Jason Solomon John and his crew flew a Fennec using night vision goggles under the cover of the night to provide a mobile sniping platform for Paskal snipers, preventing Somali pirates from a nearby mothership reinforcing ten pirates onboard the hijacked MT Bunga Mas 5. He would later portray himself in the Adrian Teh movie "PASKAL: The Movie", reenacting the rescue mission.
In 2021, one Fennec with tail number M502-03 underwent an emergency-controlled landing at Lumut Naval Base. No crew were injured in the incident, but media photographs showed the Fennec's landing skids severely damaged.
Some netizens used the photo of the 2021 incident, either erroneously using the photo or to show the type of helicopter in the recent tragedy, resulting in some confusion amongst Malaysians.
In the tragedy involving Fennec with tail number 502-06, Commanding Officer Commander Muhamad Amir bin Mohamad died together with Lieutenant (Navy) Sivasutan a/l Thanjappan, and Warrant Officer II TMK Mohd Shahrizan bin Mohd Termizi.
503rd Naval Air Wing
In 2022, the Government procured three units of AW139 to operate as Maritime Operation Helicopter (MOH) to support the security operations in Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone).
One of the squadron's helicopters with tail number M503-03 was involved in the tragic collision, killing seven members of the squadron, including the squadron's Commanding Officer, Commander Mohd Firdaus bin Ramli. The Navy has identified the six other deceases as Lt Commander Wan Rezaudeen Kamal bin Wan Zainal Abidin, Lt Commander Mohammad Amirulfaris bin Mohd Marzukhi, Warrant Officer II (AQM) Muhammad Faisol bin Tamadun, Warrant Officer II Noorfarahami binti Mohd Saedy, Petty Officer TNL Noor Rahiza binti Anuar, and Able Rate JIM Joanna Felicia anak Rohna.
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