SHAH ALAM: In a recent post on the leased helicopters, Malaysian Defence wrote that one of the aircraft selected will be the Bell 429. The helicopter is meant for the PDRM Air Wing and will be replacing the AS350s which has been in service for some 30 years now.
There is nothing official about this of course, though the government has signed the leasing deal with Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd.
A tender to replace the Airbus A350 helicopters with the PDRM Air Wing recently, was also cancelled. The tender for seven twin-engine aircraft for the Air Wing closed on schedule on January 31. As Eperolehan has decided to stop publishing the bid list and prices, there is no need to make a story out of it. We know however that Aerotree Defence Services was promoting the Cessna Sky Courier at a recent exhibition in Putrajaya. Whether the company bid for the tender is beyond me.
Now it appears that the Bell 429 is no longer the preferred helicopter for the PDRM Air Wing under the leasing programme. And its replacement is likely the AW119 Kx, Leonardo’s single engine, multi-role helicopter, according to industry sources. The number of helicopters remained seven as previously mentioned though. The sources said the 429 was the solution from the start, until late last year before the change to the Kx. It is unclear why the change was made though. It is, perhaps easier to maintain the helicopter and sort out the TOT as it is also from Leonardo.
From Leonardo:
The AW119Kx is the first light single-engine helicopter to meet all IFR standards and offers modern avionics suite and a spacious interior to enable flexibility in role. Operators worldwide benefit from the highest productivity levels among single-engine helicopters, combined with the safety provided by redundancy of main systems, as well as payload and performance at the top of its category.
The AW119Kx offers Law Enforcement and Government Agency customers a cost-effective, highly productive platform with inherent mission flexibility. The high cruise speed assures quick operational intervention and the excellent performance characteristics allow the helicopter to safely operate in the most demanding environments.
The AW119Kx features the Garmin G1000NXi VFR glass cockpit that enhances situational awareness. The Genesys Aerosystems IFR glass cockpit is available as alternative to Garmin’s avionics suite. The high power margins provide excellent performance characteristics, which allow the AW119Kx to safely operate even in the most demanding environments and confined areas.
The AW119Kx is the most spacious single-engine helicopter, accommodating up to 6 people (or one stretcher with 4 assistants) and provides a large, comfortable working space for mission operators. The multi-role cabin layout can be reconfigured with combinations of seats, mission consoles, stretchers and medical equipment. Wide doors provide exceptional accessibility and deployment.
An interesting comparison of the AW119 K and the Bell 407 and Airbus H125.
–Malaysian Defence
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The major question now is :
PDRM requirement is for twin-engined helicopter, as the current PDRM AS355 (not AS350) are twin engined.
Why is the Bell 429 (twin engined) replaced by AW119 (single engined)?
If want to go for Leonardo, shouldn’t they offer the twin-engined AW109 Trekker instead?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DZx_bznW0AAW100.jpg
That will be a story for another day.
And…
How much does those AW119 cost??
Coincidentally and ironically there is a contract for exactly 7x AW119 Kx for Israel
https://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/20-04-2022-leonardo-us-department-of-defense-awards-29-million-contract-for-new-aw119kx-helicopters-in-foreign-military-sale-to-israel
The contract includes :
– 7x AW119 Kx
– full flight simulators and other training devices
– newly built facilities
– 20-year support package
All for just USD29 million!
So each AW119 Kx just cost USD4.14 million including 20 years support package!
tak kan la syarikat bumiputra harga lagi yahudi daripada kontrak yahudi kan?
So why are we leasing them for billions of ringgit?
Lets rehash this calculation, to buy all those helicopters outright
This is the cost of 4x AW189 for APMM
https://t.co/1WQ1hKl6qf
RM530 million for 4 helicopters. That is RM132.5 million per helicopter.
3x AW139 HOM cost for TLDM
https://www.malaysiandefence.com/how-much-is-that-helicopter-in-the-window-part-2/
RM228 million for 3 helicopters. That is RM76 million per helicopter. That in itself, nearly half the price of the AW189.
7x AW119Kx price including 20 years support
https://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/20-04-2022-leonardo-us-department-of-defense-awards-29-million-contract-for-new-aw119kx-helicopters-in-foreign-military-sale-to-israel
So for 7x AW119Kx including 20 years support is USD29 mil. So each AW119Kx is USD4.24 mil or around RM18.4 million.
Okay, lets assume AW149/AW189 = RM140mil, AW139 = RM80mil, AW119Kx = RM20mil
The current 28 helicopter lease breakdown
12x AW149 (TUDM)
3x AW189 (APMM & JPM)
6x AW139 (TLDM & BOMBA)
7x AW119Kx (PDRM)
So the cost to buy all 28 helicopter outright
(15×140) + (6×80) + (7×20)
= 2100 + 480 + 140
= RM2.72 billion onlyyyyyy
Leasing cost RM16.5 billion divide by RM2.72 billion = 6.06 times.
That means, every 2.5 years, you could buy 28 new helicopters for 15 years using the same budget as the lease. You can practically fly helicopters 2.5 years with just visual checks and no major maintenence! Most helicopters even have 3 years warranty! At the end of 15 years, you will have a total of 168 helicopters!!!
That is how absurd the leasing cost is.
“429 was the solution from the start, until late last year”
Like the viability of AW149 without undersling to meet TDM/PUTD needs it will likely be TDM have to make operational changes to suit the limitations of AW149. Same will go with PDRM and AW119. Our crash prone record flying choppers meant that having a 2nd engine would at least give another layer of assurance if something goes wrong.
“So why are we leasing them for billions of ringgit?”
You and I know its clearly not about giving what the endusers wants nor about improving their existing capabilities nor about saving money nor about giving a fair deal to the rakyat… so why bother to ask.
If really want to save cost and get medium lift helicopter capability for all services.
Buy outright, brand new and used, all within RMK13 2026-2030 budget
For TUDM
– 6x used EC225LP = USD60mil (USD10mil each). Buy from MHS (BHIC), has been idle for quite sometime.
– 6x new H225M = USD180mil (USD30mil each).
Total : USD240mil
For TLDM
– 4x new AW139 HOM = USD70mil (USD17.5mil each)
For APMM (KDN)
– 2x new AW189 = USD60mil (USD30mil each)
For BOMBA (KPKT)
– 2x new AW139 = USD35mil (USD17.5mil each)
For PDRM (KDN)
– 7x new AW119Kw = USD29mil (USD4.24mil each)
For PUTD
– 24x used UH-60P from South Korea (offset FA-50/KF-21buy) = USD168mil (USD1mil + 6mil upgrade for each)
– 6x used MD530FF for SF operator transport (SOCOM MH-6 equivalent) = USD15mil (USD2.5mil each)
– 6x used AW109E Power for utility/MEDEVAC = USD15mil (USD2.5mil each)
Total : USD198mil
For kementerian pertahanan (TUDM, TLDM & PUTD)
240 + 70 + 198 = USD508 million (RM2.25 billion)
For kementerian dalam negeri (APMM & PDRM)
60 + 29 = USD89 million (RM395 million)
for Kementerian Perumahan Dan Kerajaan Tempatan (BOMBA)
USD35 million (RM155 million)
Total of additional 63 helicopters (vs just 28 additional helicopters in lease)
As I had mentioned before, the EC225 of MHS has been taken back by Airbus. This was done after it was not selected for the Army leasing contract which went to the Black Hawk and subsequently cancelled.
” As I had mentioned before, the EC225 of MHS has been taken back by Airbus ”
Taken back/sold?
As of 1Feb 2025, those EC225LP has not been reregistered with other countries, it might still be stored in MIAT Sepang.
9M-SPE Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2782 F-WWOP, 9M-SPE wfu
9M-SPF Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2803 F-WJXL, 9M-SPF wfu
9M-SPG Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2852 F-WWOY, F-WTAO, 9M-SPG wfu
9M-SPH Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2870 F-WWON, 9M-SPH wfu
9M-SPI Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2868 F-WWOT, F-WTAO, 9M-SPI wfu
Anyhow there are quite a number of used EC225LP/H225 for sale in asia and europe, and can be had for around USD10mil. So that suggestion above is still valid.
…………..
Or probably you are referring to these? Yes these EC225LP of MHS has been returned to Airbus, but there are some (listed above) that are now stored in MIAT Sepang.
9M-STH Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2790 G-CGUB, 9M-STH, G-CGUB, VH-ZFQ, N2790F, N569AC
9M-STI Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2792 F-WWOQ, G-CGUC, 9M-STI, VH-ZFK, B-70Y0
9M-STJ Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2785 G-CGUA, 9M-STJ, G-CGUA, VH-ZFS, N2785B, N568AC
9M-STK Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2735 F-WJXR, F-OKEZ, VN-8619, 9M-STK, VN-8619
9M-STQ Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2709 F-WWOU, G-ZZSP, VH-ZFC, 9M-STQ, VH-ZFC, G-ZZSP, VH-ZFC, B-70X8
9M-STK Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2735 F-WJXR, F-OKEZ, VN-8619, 9M-STK, VN-8619
9M-STQ Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2709 F-WWOU, G-ZZSP, VH-ZFC, 9M-STQ, VH-ZFC, G-ZZSP, VH-ZFC, B-70X8
9M-STX Eurocopter 225LP Super Puma Mk.II+ 2695 G-ZZSO, VH-ZFB, 9M-STX, VH-ZFB, B-70X7
In return MHS is getting at least two H160 helicopters.