Malaysia says a BrahMos buy for its Su-30MKM fighters is still only being explored

Malaysia has not decided whether to buy India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, and the idea is still at an exploratory stage, Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin told parliament on 12 November. Replying to Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, the opposition Perikatan Nasional member for Tanah Merah, he said the proposal first came up in preliminary government-level talks during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's official visit to India in September 2026.

Khaled said any purchase would first need a full technical assessment by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, as the end user, centred on whether the missile can be made compatible with and integrated on the service's Su-30MKM fighters. The review would cover operational requirements, compatibility with existing platforms, systems integration, upgrade needs and life-cycle costs.

He also cautioned that fitting BrahMos to the Su-30MKM would require aircraft modifications, testing and validation, work that usually takes a considerable time before such a capability can be fully operational. Air Times reported that he said the ministry gives priority to the capability and readiness of air force assets when weighing new weapons.

Anwar had earlier told the Indian broadcaster NDTV that a possible purchase was discussed at his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that the final decision would rest with the armed forces on the basis of their operational and technical needs, the New Straits Times reported.

BrahMos is a ramjet-powered supersonic cruise missile developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya through the BrahMos Aerospace joint venture. Versions can be fired from land launchers, warships, submarines and aircraft against targets at sea and on land.

Defence Security Asia, a regional specialist outlet, framed the question around the air force's 18 Su-30MKM fighters. It noted that the missile family was promoted at the LIMA exhibition in Langkawi in 2023, and that reports in August 2025 described a Malaysian request to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for technical documents on possible Su-30MKM modifications and their cost.

The air-launched BrahMos-A weighs about 2.5 tonnes and a fighter carries a single round, the outlet said, so the number of modified aircraft and trained crews would set the real scale of any strike capability. India's closely related Su-30MKI first flew with the missile in 2016 and completed a live firing in 2017, which gives Malaysia an engineering reference, although Malaysian aircraft would still need their own testing and certification.

The outlet added that over the South China Sea an air-launched BrahMos would give Malaysia a mobile maritime strike option, but that its value would depend on how many fighters are available, on sustained support and on reliable maritime surveillance, not only on the missile's advertised range. It also pointed to a risk that air defence and maritime strike duties would compete for the same small fleet.

The parliamentary reply came as BrahMos Aerospace chief executive Jaiteerth R Joshi said on 13 November that the company has supplied missiles to the Philippines and signed an agreement with Vietnam, and that several other South-east Asian countries are interested. Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, he said talks with those countries are at an advanced stage and that deals would follow once the Indian government gives its clearance. The report did not name the countries involved.

For now, Malaysia's position is that no purchase has been agreed, and that any move towards one would depend on an air force assessment and a lengthy integration effort on its main fighter fleet.