The Malaysian Air Force decided to strengthen its strength with 18 Korean KAI FA-50 light fighters.

According to Bulgarian Military, the winner of the tender for the purchase of 18 light combat aircraft (LCA) of the Malaysian Air Force has been announced. Six companies participated in the international tender to supply 18 light fighters to the Malaysian Air Force, and the Korean company KAI won the bid.

A $919 million contract was signed between KAI and the Malaysian Ministry of Defense for the supply of the FA-50 light combat aircraft. Malaysia announced that at least half of the payment would be made in palm oil. According to the contract, deliveries of the aircraft should begin in 2026. On the other hand, South Korea aims to sell another 18 FA-50s to Malaysia in the future.

Competition for the contract of 18 Malaysian fighters is held in 2021 with the participation of FA-50, TAI Hurjet, Hongdu L-15, M-346, Tejas, and MiG-35. The contract package also includes accompanying armament for the aircraft, which includes both beyond-visual-range-air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground missiles. Another condition in the contract is that 30% of the aircraft’s components must be manufactured in Malaysia.

FA-50 has been among Korea’s best-selling weapons in recent years. In Southeast Asia, other than Malaysia, other operators include Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. The FA-50 was developed on the T-50 Golden Eagle trainer. Its production began in 2001.

The aircraft is powered by one General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan engine (built under license by Samsung Techwin), with 53.07 kN thrust dry, and 78.7 kN with afterburner. The maximum flight speed is Mach 1.5.

Armament for close air combat is one 20 mm General Dynamics A-50 3-barrel rotary cannon, with 205 rounds. Often the air-to-air missile in the aircraft’s armament is the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The air-to-ground missile is a Naval Strike Missile, but the manufacturer plans for the next aircraft to be armed with the German-made KEPD 350K-2. The plane was also loaded with several bombs.

Since 2015 South Korea has emerged as a major global arms supplier and has become one of Malaysia’s top suppliers in the past five years. South Korea is becoming a major player in global arms as military spending in Southeast Asia increases. It should be noted that Poland has just ordered a large number of jets, tanks and artillery.

Soucre: military-wiki.com