Malaysia’s MINDEF has released a long-awaited tender for a new light combat aircraft and advanced fighter trainer, three weeks after accusing China of sending 16 military aircraft over the South China Sea near Malaysian airspace
The Southeast Asian country’s defense ministry has issued a notice seeking 18 Fighter Lead In Trainer-Light Combat Aircraft (FLIT-LCA) to replace its aging fleet of aircraft currently serving in both roles.
These include 18 BAE Hawk 108 and 208 light combat aircraft and seven Aermacchi MB-339CM trainers operated by the Royal Malaysian Air Force or RMAF, with both fleets having been worn down by attrition. The tender closes at noon on Sept. 22 Malaysian time.
Under the RMAF’s Capability 55 plan, the service is to have three squadrons of FLIT-LCAs in service. A squadron in the RMAF context typically has 18 aircraft.
Malaysia had previously issued a request for information in December 2018 from various manufacturers for its FLIT-LCA program, which reportedly garnered eight responses. The platforms put forward were the Boeing T-7 Red Hawk, South Korea’s KAI FA-50, the Italian Leonardo M-346 Master, India’s HAL Tejas, China-Pakistani PAC JF-17 Thunder, China’s Hongdu L-15 and Russia’s Yakolev Yak-130 and the Czech Aero Vodochody L-39NG.
The decision to move forward with the program was confirmed last year when air force chief Gen. Tan Sri Datuk Seri Ackbal Abdul Samad said that the RMAF’s fleet of Hawks, which entered service in the mid-1990s, would not be upgraded.