(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – Malaysia Ministry of Defence (Mindef) is currently awaiting a decision from the Kuwaiti government regarding its interest in acquiring F/A-18 Legacy Hornet aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force (KAF).
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin stated that Malaysia is keen on obtaining the McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) fighter jets following discussions with Kuwait.
Malaysia’s MINDEF also send a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) technical team to the Middle Eastern country to evaluate the aircraft last June.
“We are in the process, and we can only hope that the Kuwaiti government will consider our request. Formally, we haven’t made the acquisition yet, but informally they are aware because we have sent our teams to assess the aircraft,” he said, as quoted by BERNAMA in Perak today.
Last June, the RMAF technical team visited Kuwait for discussions related to the acquisition of these fighter jets.
RMAF Chief General Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan noted that the Kuwaiti Air Force’s F/A-18D Hornet aircraft are in good condition and have lower operational hours compared to the existing RMAF Hornets.
“RMAF still hopes to acquire the F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets even though the Arab country had to maintain and upgrade their existing Hornets due to delays in the delivery of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft purchased by Kuwait,” he said.
“Kuwait has 39 of these F/A-18D Hornet aircraft, comprising single and two-seater jets. During the visit, the RMAF and the Malaysian government will determine the number of aircraft needed,” he told the local media last May.
A few days ago, Mohamed Khaled received a courtesy visit from Kuwait’s ambassador to Malaysia, Rashed Mohammed Rashed ALSALEH, during which they discussed Malaysia’s interest in acquiring the Kuwaiti Air Force’s F/A-18 Hornet aircraft. The RMAF Chief was also present at the meeting.
In a statement on his Facebook account, the Defence Minister expressed Malaysia’s appreciation for the positive developments in bilateral and defence relations between Malaysia and Kuwait.
He noted that defence cooperation between the two countries would be further strengthened through a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed in the near future.
“Among the matters discussed was the country’s desire to acquire the F/A-18 Legacy Hornet fighter jets from the Kuwait Air Force (KAF) after KAF received their new Super Hornets,” he stated in his Facebook post.
“The meeting also covered ‘Military-to-Military Cooperation,’ defence industry collaboration, and the conflict in Gaza.”
Malaysia plans to purchase the Kuwaiti Air Force’s F/A-18 C/D Hornet aircraft as a stop-gap measure until the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is equipped with new Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA).
The Kuwait Air Force decided to retire its F/A-18 C/D aircraft after acquiring F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets and Eurofighter Typhoons
. To replace its F/A-18C/D aircraft, Kuwait has procured 28 Super Hornet jets, comprising 22 single-seat F/A-18E and six F/A-18F Super Hornet jets, which will operate from Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base.
In addition to the Super Hornet fighter jets, Kuwait has also purchased 28 Eurofighter Typhoons developed by BAE Systems, estimated to be worth US$8.7 billion. — DSA