Malaysia's first two FA-50M light combat jets are due on Friday, defence minister says

Malaysia expects to take delivery of its first two FA-50M light combat aircraft on Friday, 30 October, Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday. He gave the date while winding up the policy-stage debate on his ministry's allocation under the Supply Bill 2027, according to reports by Free Malaysia Today and The Edge Malaysia.

The two jets are the first of 18 FA-50 Block 20 aircraft ordered from Korea Aerospace Industries under a contract worth nearly 4 billion ringgit, signed by the Ministry of Defence in May 2023. The Malaysian version of the South Korean light fighter carries the designation FA-50M.

Khaled said the new aircraft would strengthen the air combat capability of the Malaysian Armed Forces. The fleet is to be based at Kuantan air base, he said, with some of the aircraft also slated for deployment to Labuan air base.

The chief of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, General Muhamad Norazlan Aris, told the New Straits Times that the service was ready to receive the jets, with the necessary infrastructure, personnel and maintenance support in place. He said No. 15 Squadron, the unit designated to fly the type, had already moved to Kuantan Air Base, and that pilots and technical staff had completed specialised training in South Korea.

According to the air force chief, the remaining aircraft will arrive in stages, with all 18 scheduled to be delivered by March 2028. He did not give dates for initial or full operational capability, saying those milestones would depend on the pace of deliveries, crew training, systems integration and operational evaluation.

Norazlan said the FA-50M is fitted with an active electronically scanned array radar, modern avionics, advanced targeting systems and precision-strike capability, and that it would improve the service's air defence, combat training and strike options. He said the jets would add to, rather than replace, the Su-30MKM and F/A-18D Hornet fighters already in RMAF service, giving commanders more flexibility to match aircraft to missions.

The purchase forms part of the air force's long-term modernisation programme under its Capability Development Plan 2055, known as CAP55, the general said. Malaysian reports have described the FA-50M as a more capable variant than the FA-50s flown by the Republic of Korea Air Force and by regional operators including the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Monday's announcement settles a delivery date that had been left open earlier this month. On 12 October Khaled said the aircraft would arrive on schedule and that he had received no information pointing to a delay, while adding that the arrival date would be announced later, The Star reported. The air force had said in June that the first two jets were due in October.

The arrival of the first pair will mark the start of deliveries under a contract that has been running for more than three years. The reports did not say how the aircraft would be flown or shipped to Malaysia, or whether a handover ceremony is planned.