Malaysia agrees to buy Russian fighter jets

The Russia Journal ^ | 19 May 2003 | The Russia Journal

[glorgau]

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will buy 18 Russian fighter jets for about US$900 million in a major boost to its air power, defense ministers from both nations said Monday.
The contract, expected to be finalized later this year, could mark a setback for Boeing, which had been in competition with Russia's largest weapons manufacturer Sukhoi to sell fighter jets to Malaysia.
"Russia is ready for serious cooperation with Malaysia, and we are ready to supply Malaysia with the sophistication of cutting-edge technology," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a two-day visit to Kuala Lumpur.
"The contract will come into force a bit later, but the major stipulations are now approved," Ivanov said, speaking through an interpreter at a joint news conference with his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Abdul Razak.
Malaysia had agreed in principle to the deal and would likely take delivery of 18 Sukhoi SU-30 fighters starting mid-2006, Najib said.
He refused to say whether Malaysia was still considering buying Boeing's U.S.-made Super Hornet FA-18E fighter jets. A defense ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier plans to buy Super Hornet jets were now uncertain.
Malaysia had been planning to buy both the Russian and U.S.-made fighters, defense officials said in February.
The contract to buy the Russian jets is this Southeast Asian country's largest since spending about 6 billion ringgit (dlrs 1.6 billion) last year on European and Russian-made hardware ranging from rifles and missiles to its first submarines.
The purchase will bolster Malaysia's existing fleet of 18 Russian MiG-29 fighters, eight FA-18D Hornets, seven F-5 Tigers and eight British-built Hawk jets.
Officials have said Malaysia's neighbors should not be nervous about the defense upgrade, since the purchases are part of plans put on hold in 1997 because of the Asian financial crisis.
The deal with Malaysia comes a few weeks after neighboring Indonesia reportedly said it would buy more than 40 warplanes from Sukhoi over the next four years, a deal that skirts a U.S. embargo on arms sales to Indonesia because of human rights concerns.
Ghazemy Mahmud, a Kuala Lumpur-based editor of the Asian Defense Journal, said the deals did not indicate a shift in Southeast Asia toward Russian-made arms, as several countries in this region began purchasing Russian defense products for more than a decade ago.
Ivanov, who also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad later Monday, said he held "easy-flowing, constructive and meaningful" talks with Najib. Topics in both meetings included military cooperation, security in the Asia-Pacific region, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Russia and Malaysia's views on counterterrorism measures and security issues "greatly converged," Ivanov said. He said the two countries have agreed to stage joint military and naval exercises, without giving details.
Ivanov is scheduled to travel from Malaysia to Washington on Tuesday.

[glorgau]

This is the Malaysian reaction to the Iraqi war - also they probably got a good deal.

[Calpernia]

Ah yes, Kuala Lumpur. They have a very nice skyline:

Funny thing about Malaysia. Two weeks before 9/11, many of our troops had orders to be ready to deploy there for a 'looksy'.

Their PM hates globalization so much, Vision 2020 was implemented. Vision 2020 is a goal to shift world powers.

Things that make you go hmmmm.

[RLK]

a major boost to its air power...

-----------------

For what purpose?

[Filibuster_60]

Perhaps the fear of creeping Chinese domination in the South China Sea. I don't see any other possibilities.

[Reeses]

18 Russian fighter jets for about US$900 million

That conversion rate can't be right, way too much money for Russian hardware. Buying Russian is a proven way to lose in war.

[tlb]

18 Sukhoi SU-30 fighters , otherwise known as 18 targets.
Been a long itme since a Russian jet accomplished anything in combat against an enemy that can shoot back.

[witnesstothefall]

Dollars to donuts we get to destroy these on the ground inside 5 years. Dr. Mahatir is beggin for a beating and I for one hopes he gets it.

[keithtoo]

Very shortsighted. This is probably more to run in the US's eye than anything else. For that much money, they could have purchased 'real' fighters, like the F-16.

The Russian 29 and 30 are unproven and they will have serious problems with maintenance, spare parts and ongoing support.

They are pretty much throwing away money. That's OK since they are a future candidate for an Islamic takeover.

[Calamiliel]

It seems that many of you under estimate Russian hardware and over estimate U.S. hardware. To begin with, the most imporant part of a comabt fighter is the pilot. More hours and better training = success. No other country in the world trains their pilots as hard as the U.S. and this is a large factor in their success. Also, no airforce has really challenged the U.S. since Vietnam and those days are gone when Russia pumped out quantity rather than quality. I think you'd bee a fool to claim that a Russian squadron of Su-30s vs. a U.S squadron of F-16s, F-18's, or F-15s, would be a no contest if both squadrons were flown by foreign pilots.

Secondly, Russian hardware has been proven to be competitive. U.S. flown F-18s mixed it up against German Mig-29s and the U.S. pilots came away from those dog fights claiming a new respect for the Russian hardware.

The Russian Su-30 fighters have never seen combat, but have repeatedly broken records, and have displayed incredible agility at airshows around the world. Both the U.S. and Russian hardware are good platforms now days, and the real questions are who will train the pilots, and how available are parts? So far, the Chineese and Indians have had zero issues with parts for their large fleets of Su-27s and Su-30s. Imo, this move is to snub the U.S. and its recent actions. I think we will see the Russians selling a lot more hardware in the near future on account of recent geo-political events.

[skeeter]

I wonder what it is Malaysia thinks it can do to influence the balance of power.

No country has benefited more from globalization than Malaysia, BTW.

[AppyPappy]

In war, things don't always work the same. The Israelis were surprised to find the A-4's so effective in real combat. The Eqyptians were equally surprised to find the SU-7's so good at ground combat.

[showme_the_Glory]

A good shovel can destroy your back if you don't know how to dig with it.

Welcome to FR

[klpt]

[Sparta]

Orient/Far East ping

If you want on or off my Orient/Far East ping list, let me know.

[JETDRVR]

The Suksky demo pilots at Farnborough few years back, were selling rides to buy enough turbosina for the trip home. Go figure

[Calpernia]

Vision 2020 has two faces. The politically correct one, just a set of goals to advance Malaysia and achieve. The Policially Incorrect one that birthed from the PMs rant at a World Trade Organization meeting is to basically replace the West and make Malaysia a world power.

And no 3rd world country will ever admit to the benefits of globalization. 3rd world countries blame the West for the conditions and state they are in. Scapegoating is easier than owning responsibility.

[Reeses]

Russian hardware has been proven to be competitive.

Iraq owns mostly Russian hardware. They bought $35 million in illegal Russian GPS jammers just before the war that failed to jam a single bomb, a complete scam. The Iraq war is very similar to what would happen US vs. any Russian equipped military. Winning a dog fight has little to do with airplane performance anymore. The fight is usually decided before the jets get within 35 miles of each other.

[LibKill]

Russian hardware is (mostly) good.

It is the men that make the difference. We have the men.

What do they have?

[Reeses]

Also, Iraq didn't fly a single Russian jet during the war. To do so would have been an act of suicide.