RMAF F/A-18D Hornet Engine Catches Fire During Take-Off

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) F/A-18D Hornet fighter aircraft was involved in an accident during take-off from Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport in Kuantan, Pahang, on Tuesday night.

In a statement issued at 10 p.m., the RMAF confirmed that the incident occurred at approximately 9:05 p.m. and that immediate action was being taken to address the situation.

The service noted that it was taking all necessary steps and would provide further updates while urging the public to refrain from spreading speculation or unverified information.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that both the pilot and the weapon system officer survived the crash after ejecting from the twin-seat fighter before it went down.

Images circulated online appear to show both RMAF crew members being transported on stretchers at a nearby civilian hospital.

Video footage from bystanders also captured flames erupting from the engines of the twin-seat, twin-engine fighter jet during its attempted take-off from Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport.

The RMAF currently operates a fleet of eight F/A-18D Hornets acquired from the United States in 1997.

Malaysia placed its initial order for the aircraft in 1993, with all jets based today at RMAF Butterworth Air Base in Penang.

Delivery of the Hornets commenced in 1997 from the Boeing (then McDonnell Douglas) production facility in St Louis, Missouri.

Despite their age, the Hornets have been progressively modernised through a series of avionics, mission-system, and sustainment upgrades designed to keep the fleet operationally credible well into the 2030s.

The first major upgrade package was launched in 2011, focusing on navigation, targeting, and situational awareness improvements.

That package introduced enhanced GPS, colour moving-map displays, an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator, and the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), supported by maintenance and aircrew training initiatives.

The 2011 decision was explicitly aimed at ensuring the aircraft remained interoperable with allies and operationally relevant, a theme that has guided subsequent sensor, weapons, and datalink upgrades.

By 2017, the modernisation programme had advanced to include integration of JHMCS cueing, AIM-9X short-range missiles, JDAM precision-guided bombs, and the AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod.

These enhancements transformed the Hornet into a capable day-night precision-strike platform while boosting within-visual-range combat performance through high-off-boresight missile cueing.

In parallel, the RMAF initiated heavy maintenance work through the “Local Planned Maintenance 12 Years” (LPM12Y) programme.

Launched in 2021, LPM12Y has been carried out domestically in collaboration with RMAF engineers, G7 Global Aerospace, and Rosebank Engineering, with several aircraft already returned to service since 2023–2024, including M45-07 in April 2024.

Localising depot-level maintenance has shortened turnaround times, built sovereign expertise, and created the industrial foundation needed to sustain a larger Hornet fleet should additional airframes be acquired.

In May 2024, the U.S. government approved Malaysia’s request to procure ten AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods worth approximately USD 80 million to further modernise the Hornet fleet.

The Sniper ATP provides improved image quality, automated tracking, and long-range identification capabilities, while also offering fleet commonality with Malaysia’s incoming FA-50M light fighters.

Adopting a common targeting pod across both platforms simplifies training, spares management, and sustainment while enhancing precision-strike efficiency in maritime interdiction and close air support missions.

Earlier approvals also secured the fleet’s beyond-visual-range capability with AIM-120C-7 AMRAAMs, strengthening deterrence and joint exercise interoperability.

On the communications and electronic warfare side, the RMAF has pursued the SCS-29C(M) upgrade pathway under LPM12Y, enhancing communications, radar-warning, and datalink systems.

More ambitious upgrades such as full Link 16 implementation and AESA radar retrofits have been considered but not universally applied across the fleet.

Nevertheless, the Hornets continue to operate with the proven AN/APG-73 radar integrated with modern cueing, precision weapons, and advanced targeting pods, delivering a cost-effective balance of capability.

The question of scale also looms large, as Malaysia is pursuing the potential acquisition of second-hand F/A-18C/Ds from Kuwait, pending that country’s induction of new fighters.

If finalised as signalled in mid-2025, the deal could add up to 30 airframes, enabling the RMAF to establish a second Hornet squadron, expand its spare parts pool, and streamline pilot training pipelines while awaiting a future MRCA programme.

Such an expansion would amplify the benefits of domestic depot capacity, mission-kit standardisation, and shared targeting pods across Hornets and FA-50Ms.

For pilots, the most impactful upgrades remain dual-cockpit JHMCS integration, a reliable precision-strike pod with sustainable support, and seamless incorporation of AIM-9X and AMRAAM missiles.

For maintainers, the decisive deliverables lie in structural inspections, corrosion and fatigue rectification, and dependable spares flow—all driven by the in-country LPM12Y programme.

Operationally, the cumulative effect is improved day-night targeting, shorter sensor-to-shooter timelines, reduced fratricide risks with modern IFF, and a scalable sustainment model.

From a financial perspective, leveraging proven sensors and pods alongside domestic depot capacity yields high returns without the costs and risks of full MLU or AESA retrofits.

Looking two to five years ahead, the Hornet roadmap centres on Sniper ATP fielding, continued LPM12Y cycles, incremental software updates, and selective survivability enhancements.

Should ex-Kuwaiti Hornets join the fleet, the RMAF will have the opportunity to harmonise them to a standardised “Malaysian 29C-family” configuration, simplifying training and mission-data management.

Strategically, the payoff is not merely technological, as a robust, well-maintained legacy Hornet fleet provides deterrence, trains new generations of aircrew, and buys valuable time for a measured MRCA transition in the 2030s and 2040s.

In sum, Malaysia’s Hornet upgrade strategy represents a textbook example of extracting maximum combat value from a mature platform through targeted avionics, weapons, and sustainment investments tailored to national budgets and industrial capacity.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA