‘Purchase of defence assets relies on finances’

ALOR STAR: The purchase of any new defence assets for the country, including fighter jets, will be done by taking into consideration the country’s financial position and economic development.

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said the government was focusing more on the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) of existing assets rather than bringing in new ones.

“We have received offers from Russia, China, India and Pakistan, who have offered their jets.

“Most of the offers that have come in are for maintenance, so we will review them. We will buy new assets if the county’s finances are good,” he said here yesterday.

On Saturday, at the 2019 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition, two Asian jet producers — Hindustani Aeronautics Ltd from India and Korea Aerospace Industry from South Korea — had expressed their readiness to help the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) refresh its asset line-up.

In June last year, RMAF chief General Tan Sri Affendi Buang said more than 40 per cent of RMAF’s assets had surpassed the 20-year lifespan, which would necessitate an upgrade, including the Hawk aircraft made by BAE, which had been in service for 25 years; United States-made Boeing F/A-18D Hornet (20 years) and Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers made in Russia (10 years).

On the maintenance cost of the Scorpene submarines, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and KD Tun Abdul Razak, Mohamad said it was high, amounting to almost RM500 million a year.

“The submarines are modern and sophisticated, but they need to be maintained and that is costly.

“The older they get, the higher the cost to maintain them.”