PETALING JAYA: Ok, we already know we cannot afford to purchase those super-duper MRCA planes to replace the Fulcrums and other planes including the Hawks and Hornets in RMAF inventory.
We have mentioned before that buying second planes and other arms maybe the next best thing for resource stretch Armed Forces. Some had mentioned buying second hand Hornets or the Vipers. As I had mentioned before the RMAF is quite shy about going down the second hand route – following the Skyhawks and Albatross debacle. I am still skeptical about the Armed Forces buying second hand arms but the latest news from US need to be explained in the Malaysian context.
At a recent testimony in Congress, US Air Force general spoke about “upgrading” their F16 fleet. What they said:
“That means a service life extension program for newer-model F-16s, pushing them from life spans of 8,000 flight hours per jet to about 10,000 hours. Carlisle said the Air Force will SLEP between 300 and 350 of its Block 40 and Block 50 F-16s — though it has enough aircraft that it could upgrade around 600, if it ever needed to.
Lindell said officials expect that to cost about $9.4 million per airplane, enabling the fighters to stay in service until around 2030. “We expect some viability out of the F-16 fleet if we’re going to spend that much money to SLEP the aircraft,” he said.”
Since 2nd hand late generation Vipers could be procured below USD50 million (around RM155 million, could be lower if we bargain) and the cost of upgrading them is US9.4 million (RM28), for around RM3 billion we can get around 30 planes! And these jets could last until 2030! If the USAF think a fleet of Vipers is good enough, why cant we? Yes, I know buying second hand jets through FMS cheaply means no offsets (yes we could still ask for offsets but that why I said cheap) and the need to forgo other luxuries but….
–Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (38)
Even without the notorious habit of cronyism within the government, Malaysia surely would have to pay more than the US Air Force.
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Perhaps lower because we may not get all the black boxes...but we could asked for the same electronic specs as the Block 6) as flown by the UAEs..I am using the US benchmark for price comparison...As I said if we follow the FMS route and let the USAF decide the things to .be installed on the upgraded Vipers we may get the same things minus US specific items of course
just like TNI Au, they want second hand basic F-16 and then upggraded into blok 52
FMS policies are the reason why we dont buy Americans, but not much to do with security clearance is a hint for the day.
I wonder if they can actually make a new F-16 with engines, avionics and coatings designed for the F-35 and F-22. That would never happen for us, of course.
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Its better for us to buy the F-35 rather than designing a new planes. I know SLEP carries its own risks but beggars cannot be choosers...
FareedLHS,
According to Dzirhan Mahadzir on his FB page, the Su-30s have done DACTs with the USN.
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Yes the USN guys said it was interesting to dogfight at supersonic speed...
Because FMS also means no one else gets a cut. IIRC, FMS was one of them main requirements specified by the Indonesia Parliament (DPR) before they agreed to the used F-16 deal (along with the Block 52 upgrade)
We need to look at this proposition/possibility dispassionately. The RMAF requires numbers and refurbished Vipers are not exactly lemons provided any refurbishment is done well and not the half-hearted effort as was done with the A-4PTM/TA-4PTMs and SA-16 Albatross'.
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Thats why its must be done on a FMS basis with USAF as the manager so the warranty lies with them instead of a commercial procurement through a Sdn Bhd company which will become dormant once it had received all the commission for the project. In-fact this is the best way to procure any arms even from other countries although its difficult to have the same guarantees when purchasing them commercially like purchases of the Sukhois, Fulcrum, Scorpene, Lekiu, PT91M and even the AV8. Yes local manufacture sounds sexy but wait 10 years down the road...thats what happen with the Steyr, Pinzgauers and the other stuff.
Azlan,
That is good to hear. Too bad the story doesn't come from official military sources.
Re: F-16s
We would be better off buying used F/A-18Ds than heavily-used USAF F-16s. We already fly the aircraft, and are set up to train for it, service it and so on. Introducing the F-16s would require a new training regime, from ground crews and service personnel to pilots.
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There is no large stock of 18Ds available to buy second hand, the USN C/Ds are nearing their life, moreover there is no official USN upgrade for the Ds, as they move to Super Hornet, so we will end up paying for the development. Unless we go for the first generation Super Hornets, the ones without the AESA radars....
As for the DACT with USN, it was reported by the GW (if I remember correctly) news release but no pictures....
I should think some shift in operational and training regimes would be necessary with the acquisition of any new type of combat aircraft. But a shift from Hornet to Viper would be less painful given they are both of US origin. Of course a shift from Hornet to Super Hornet would even be more agreeable but we are looking at less expensive alternatives.
I am may be the odd one here, but i tend to disagree with the options of 2nd hand f16. First we will be adding another type of fighters to the mix though we may be familiar with its operations. Secondly apart from the 10 mig 29 and 10 f5e, the rest of RMAF fleet still got more than a lot of life in them, whats lacking is the money to maintain and operate them at optimal level.
Even if we took out the mig completely and the F5E, we still have about 39 fighters/light bombers. It may not be adequate but for a deterrent level strategy it should be sufficient. Again what is lacking is the money to operate, weaponised and maintain them at optimal level.
may be what we should get second hand from FMS for RMAF is some Hercules E (later upgrade to J), some E2C and some black hawks or chinook
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No problem Kamal...