SHAH ALAM: RMN Leonardo A139 Maritime Operations Helicopter (MOH) tail number M503-1 is now at the air wing’s base in Lumut after undertaking a nine-hour flight from Kota Kinabalu over the weekend. The 2500km journey – with several stops – was the first flight undertaken by a RMN helicopter from Kota Kinabalu, without needing a stop on board a ship, the Eastern Fleet Command said in a Facebook post on January 22.
The helicopter will take part in the fleet review to be held later this week with other RMN ships and helicopters – the Super Lynx and Fennec – for the retiring RMN chief Admiral Reza Sany. The Eastern Fleet Command ships and helicopters had already done the same review for Reza on January 11 (see below).
The post:
𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐆𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐈 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐃 𝟏𝟎𝟗
Kota Kinabalu, 20 Jan – ‘Adat periuk berkerak, adat lesung berdedak.’ Melaksanakan operasi penerbangan dari Stesen Udara Kota Kinabalu (SUKK) yang berpangkalan di Pangkalan TLDM Kota Kinabalu (PTKK) Teluk Sepangar Sabah ke Pangkalan TLDM Lumut Perak bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah. Ia memerlukan perancangan yang teliti baik daripada segi persiapan pesawat, laluan navigasi atau pandu arah, analisis bentuk muka bumi dan keadaan cuaca di setiap tempat yang dilalui serta persiapan mental kru udara sendiri sebelum menerbangkan pesawat. Persiapan yang dilakukan ini tidak boleh seperti ‘agak lebih daripada agih,’ maklumat-maklumat di atas perlu dikumpul dari banyak sumber sebelum rumusan dan kesimpulan terbaik diterbitkan.
Merentas udara sejauh 2500 batu nautika dengan jumlah penerbangan selama 9 jam 10 minit dari negeri Sabah menuju ke Sarawak dan seterusnya melewati Laut China Selatan (LCS) untuk ke Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur dan mendarat di Markas Udara TLDM di Pangkalan TLDM Lumut Perak merupakan tugasan yang julung kali dilaksanakan serta pengalaman pertama bagi kru udara TLDM yang menerbangkan pesawat Helikopter Operasi Maritim (HOM) AW 139. Sebelum ini, aset-aset udara TLDM termasuklah helikopter Super Lynx Mk 100 dan AS 555 SN Fennec akan mendarat di geladak penerbangan kapal-kapal perang TLDM terlebih dahulu dan mengikuti pelayaran bersama kapal tersebut dari Semenanjung ke Sabah dan Sarawak atau sebaliknya. Namun, bagi HOM AW 139 pesawat ini mampu melaksanakan navigasi jarak jauh merentasi garisan longitude 109 di LCS iaitu garisan menegak di peta yang membahagikan Semenanjung dengan Sabah dan Sarawak.
Kru Udara TLDM yang pertama merentasi langit di garisan longitude 109 dengan menerbangkan pesawat tanpa perlu mendarat di kapal-kapal perang TLDM ini terdiri daripada dua orang juruterbang, seorang Pegawai Taktikal Udara, seorang Kuatermaster Udara dan dua orang juruteknik pesawat berkepakaran mekanikal dan avionik diketuai Komander Hairul Afikin bin Tukimin TLDM Pegawai Memerintah Skuadron 503 yang menerbangkan HOM AW 139. Pesawat ini dijangka akan menyertai armada helikopter TLDM di Lumut, Perak dalam acara pengunduran Panglima Tentera Laut (PTL) yang diadakan di Markas Pemerintahan Armada Barat (MPA Barat). Antara acara yang dirancang melibatkan pesawat termasuklah penerbangan lintas hormat semasa perbarisan pengunduran PTL dan semasa Fleet Review.
Artikel: Lt Kdr Ahmad Fitri bin Alias TLDM, Juruterbang Operasi Skuadron 503
Foto: PW I AQM Sahardi bin Mohd Sayuti
— Malaysian Defence
View Comments (15)
To be honest, what a waste of time and money when finances are so tight.
Indeed. Were they trying to prove something or what. It would been more cost efficient to land on a ship and piggyback to the base or packed and shipped via a transporter.
"To be honest, what a waste of time and money when finances are so tight."
Which one, the fleet review for an Admiral or flying the heli from East to West Malaysia?
>waste of money
which one is wasteful, flying the helo itself or asking a ship (a big, hangar capable ship) to send the helo from point a to point b?
Tom Tom - ''To be honest, what a waste of time and money when finances are so tight.''
To be equally honest you sound like a bean counter unable or unwilling to see the bigger picture.
- Having the ability to deploy assets from East to West or vice versa is vital. Long range flights and nav are always equally vital and need training - not something crews can get right the first time. As for not deck landing; ee also never know when they're will be an actual need to deploy and if RMN ships will be available when needed. Before we make harsh conclusions lets first look at things in totality.
- The question I'm much more interested is where the AW139 made its refueling stops. For Nuris the first stop in the Peninsular was always Senai.
''Were they trying to prove something or what.''
Yes they were. To test and prove that something can be done if there is ever a need. If you're aware the armed services cater for a whole list of contingencies and when possible train for them; i.e. units at times go silent and rely on couriers to relay messages in case comms are jammed and ships at Lumut at times train to dock under darkness [someone I know recall seeing it be done with the Inderapura - not easy even in the best of times].
The helicopter stops twice, Kuching and after crossing Senai
I agree with Azlan there. The trip may look like a waste of money but another take on the flight would be an realistic exercise in distance flying between the mainland and their Borneon base. Helicopters like these should be seriously flown, not kept under lock and key for VIP joyrides.
If they wanted to prove something, they should have flown it all the way back from Italy. Just my 2sen.
Why not?
Having an asset that can be deployable in the east & west side of the pond and a competent crew is a whole lot more cost effective then buying 2 less capable helo that can only operated on either sides.
''If they wanted to prove something''
The crew is proud of what they did and nobody should take it away from them with silly sarcastic comments such as flying to Italy. As explained in a previous post it's not as if flying an asset direct from east to west has no utility. It's not as if it was a joyride intended for an adrenaline rush. Having the ability to rapidly move things east to west and vice versa with minimal backup is vital and is something we've been doing way before we even considered getting AW139s.... In the mid 1980's we lifted Sibmas ARVs to Sabah and flew them back. I remember someone also saying it was a waste.
Reminds me of defence apathetic comments by DAP trolls years ago who were quick to jump to the narrative that various things the services did were a waste of money and were purely a PR gimmick...
''Just my 2sen.''