SHAH ALAM: MUH in Kota Kinabalu. IT appears that the first two Leonardo AW139 Maritime Operations/Utility helicopters (MUH) have already been delivered to the RMN air wing unit at the Kota Kinabalu naval base in Teluk Sepanggar.
This was revealed during the official visit of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Rear Admiral Aaron Beng Yao Cheng to the KK Naval Base. Accompanied by RMN Chief Admiral Mohd Reza Mohd Sany, RADM Beng visited the RMN air wing unit which include the Skuadron 601 which operates the Boeing Insitu Scan Eagle and the newly delivered AW139s.
As previously reported, the first MUH were expected to be delivered last month, so it is likely that KK RMN airing crew are in the process of getting these rotary assets into service. From the picture, it is likely that they will be armed with pintle mounted machine guns as well. It is likely that the third AW139 will be delivered next month as schedueld. And it is also likely once the helicopters have been accepted into RMN service, a formal announcement on them will be made. Unlike the delivery of the MD530G (though it was done as these helicopters were late). That said there are talk that the full acceptance of the MD530Gs is likely to be delayed for various reasons.
The visit of the RSN chief also gave us the opportunity to see that the racing pistols ordered by the RMN for the Eastern Fleet are already delivered.
Anyhow there is also unconfirmed talk that the Army might also be getting its own AW139s instead of leasing them like the RMAF .
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (28)
Their admiral looks so thin and fit meanwhile our admirals & generals... *facepalm*
He is 46 I believe, as he was appointed two years ago at the age of 44. The newly appointed SG Army chief is 44 and the current SG CDF is 47. In that 44-50 agegroup, most MY officers are usually rank Lt Colonels, though some are already Colonels.
So the army is ok into having a smaller AW139 now rather than waiting a bit longer for Blackhawk size AW149?
It may not be a case of whether the army is ''ok'' but a case of it being told to accept what it gets.
Not really lah..aw149 just alil bigger than aw139 and thats about it..and the truth is PUTD need bigger chopper like h225m/h215m or s92 to comfortably replace the nuris
Or from aw its aw101 which virtually way outside our budget..to keep the sikorsky legacy within the army aviation the blackhawk or s92 are the go to option
Well age certainly plays a role, but I'm refer to comparing their tummies. Haha. I mean I seen atoks thinner & fitter than most of these multi-star bigshots.
About the choppers, leasing was done cuz they do not have the CAPEX fund to buy new ones. If such chatter did happen either; 1)They wrangled sufficient extra budget to buy outright or 2)They postponed certain buys to a later period(perhaps the Caesars that they so wanted?).
Firdaus - ''to keep the sikorsky legacy within the army aviation the blackhawk or s92 are the go to option''
No the S-92 is not even being considered and I seriously doubt there are funds for Blackhawks. If indeed the army gets AW-139s this means it will have a limited lift capacity and will be unable to under sling 105mm guns; thus reliance will still have to be placed on the RMAF.
@Firdaus
AW149 is about the same size & weight class as Blackhawk, perhaps why it was not more popular because it is fighting against the de facto standard for medium chopper. IMHO for TDM the best is Blackhawk but if for reasons they prefer Airbus, then AW149 is the best. S92/Caracal is in the upper mid segment which imho is overkill for their medium chopper needs. Maybe would be good to have 6-8 units as oversized support to the medium lifters but not for the whole fleet as cost is a huge concern here.
AW139 unable to undersling 105mm guns?
Azlan, do you really know what you are talking about?
LG1 weighs just 1.5 tons, and the AW139 could underslung loads up to 2.7 tons.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8iq2USNaJ6E/UKojpsUsMlI/AAAAAAAAALw/sZXT5SLDDPs/s1600/63176_530406590322660_335557113_n.jpg
Money for new AW139 will be less money for other army needs. Nothing wrong on getting some free Blackhawks.
A civilian AW139, originally bought to carry passengers, is unlikely to be equipped for underslung load, a fully militarised AW139 might for such task