RMAF To Receive Final Consignment Of Six Sukhoi Aircraft By Year End

[tigershark]

RMAF To Receive Final Consignment Of Six Sukhoi Aircraft By Year End
KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) are expected to take delivery of final consignment of six Sukhoi SU-30MKM fighter aircrafts from Russia by year end.

Chief of Air Force Jen Datuk Seri Azizan Ariffin said the final consignment of six Sukhoi SU-30MKM fighters will complete Malaysia's purchase of the 18 sophisticated aircraft and further bolster RMAF's inventory in defending Malaysia's air space.

He added that the consignment was also in tandem with RMAF's development plans to remain relevant and competitive and increase the country's defence capability with state-of-the-art air defence.

"We have already received 12 such aircrafts and the remaining six are expected to arrive by year end. The 12 aircrafts already in our inventory are used in training from time to time," said Azizan at a special interview at the Ministry of Defence here Friday, in conjunction with RMAF's 51st Anniversary celebrations on June 1.

All the aircrafts will be equipped with state-of-the-art radar systems for superior combat agility and maneuverability in the air.

Malaysia and the Russian government agency, Rosoboronexport, signed a US$900 million (RM3.4 billion) contract for 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM (Modernizirovannyi Kommercheskiy Malaysia or Modernised Commercial Malaysia) aircraft.

In return for the purchase, Russia agreed to train and send a Malaysian astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) and also buy palm oil from Malaysia.

Azizan said RMAF would also take delivery of four Airbus A400M aircrafts, two in 2013 and another two in 2014.

He added that RMAF also has plans to add to its current inventory but it would depend on the budget and government's capability.

Meanwhile, Azizan added that the RMAF base in Sungai Besi should be retained as a national heritage and not be demolished or commercialized since the base had served as an rescue operation centre for air traffic, especially RMAF, police and Fire services department.

Source
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=414631

[tigershark]

Didn't Malaysia's have 12 other Su-30s with avionics problems were those ever fixed?

[AVIATOR]

Even if they were Tiger something else will soon go wrong.
It's just one more developing country buying cheap stuff that are plagued with problems.

[tigershark]

I read where Hornet pilots were pulled with 300 hrs training time to be used for the Flankers.  300 hrs isn't a lot of time on the Hornets to begin with so changing aircraft types for new pilots can't be easy.  I really question the base training Russia provides for their aircraft and other equipment.  Venezuela's Flankers seem to be take a long time to get going as well.  India didn't start out fast not sure about Algeria or Vietnam and not much is known about China's Flankers in general.

Trainers need to be trained and good maintenance needs to be in place period, you can't be successful without these two things in place.