news and commentary

MECU is still up in the air

SHAH ALAM: MECU is still up in the air. Last July, I wrote that the tender for MECU, the Multi Engine Conversion Unit, aircraft was published by the Defence Ministry. It appears until today, the tender has yet to be sorted out, meaning that a bidder has not been selected […]

Malaysia - RMAF

Selamat Jalan Nuri?

SHAH ALAM: Selamat Jalan Nuri? It appears that the Defence Ministry is looking to lease helicopters to replace the Nuri in service with RMAF and the Army. The Nuris, according to Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu are grounded. He said in Parliament on Nov. 27 that although the spare parts were […]

Malaysia - RMAF

Swimming in A Fishbowl

SHAH ALAM: Swimming in a fishbowl. IT appears that my post on Kuwaiti Hornets was overly optimistic. RMAF chief Gen. Affendi Buang downplayed the possibility in response to written questions posed to him ahead of the service’s 61st anniversary today. He said that although it welcome any offer of used […]

Malaysian Army

Goodbye Whirly Bird?

SHAH ALAM: Goodbye Whirly Bird? At LIMA 19 although the government signed several LOIs with Airod Sdn Bhd for the MRO of RMAF aircraft including VIP ones, what was glaring was the absence of the contract or even LOIs for the upgrade of the Nuri, Hawks and Hercules. As the […]

Malaysia - RMAF

STC For Nuri

SHAH ALAM: RMAF presented the supplemental type certificate (STC) to Airod Sdn Bhd yesterday, marking the official acceptance of the Nuri Upgrade Programme 4. The NUP 4 is the designation for the work to upgrade a single Nuri – M23-37 – with a new digital cockpit. The helicopter itself was […]

Airshow

Contracts and Nuri Handing Over

LANGKAWI: Contracts and Nuri Handing over. Nuri tail number M23-37 was officially handed over to the RMAF today marking the start of in service flight trials for the helicopter with the new digital cockpit. NADI Group, the parent company of Airod Sdn Bhd, signed the proof of concept contract at […]

Malaysia - RMAF

Upgraded Nuri in Test Flight

SHAH ALAM: Upgraded Nuri in flight testing. In my post on the Nuri upgrade on October 14, 2016, I wrongly stated that the upgrade work on the Nuri will be done in Norway. In fact, the work was and being done locally, at the Airod hangar located inside the Subang […]

Malaysian Army

SPH Delayed

SHAH ALAM: SPH Delayed. The plan to buy the M109 SPH for the Army has been deferred due to the current budget crunch. The timing for the purchase remained uncertain and will depend on the final approval of the government, Army chief Jen Zulkiple Kassim said in an interview ahead […]

Malaysia - RMAF

Nuri Upgrade Update

SHAH ALAM: IT appears that the Nuri upgrade program has started based on the press release posted at the bottom of this post. The first helicopter to undergo the modification is expected to be displayed at LIMA 17, so it is likely work on the example has started or starting […]

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Defence Shows

DSA 2016, Day 3

KUALA LUMPUR: DSA 2016. PDRM is set to join the Armed Forces by having the Colt M4 Carbine as its standard rifle with some 15,000 units expected to be procured. PDRM’s Pasukan Gerakan Am – which is mostly equipped with Colt M16A1 rifles – is expected to be the first […]