KUALA LUMPUR: Several options are being considered by the Defence Ministry to meet the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (TUDM) light combat aircraft requirements, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (pic).
The Defence Minister said the assessment also includes whether to proceed with the second phase of its Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) acquisition programme and considering alternative platforms that may be better suited to TUDM’s current operational needs as well as its medium- and long-term plans.
“To date, no final decision has been made regarding the implementation of the second phase of the procurement,” he said in a written parliamentary reply in Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
As such, Mohamed Khaled said matters relating to the project’s registration under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) and the estimated cost of the acquisition have yet to be finalised.
He said the ministry would ensure that any eventual procurement is carried out in a transparent and prudent manner while delivering the best value for the government and meeting TUDM’s operational and readiness requirements.
Mohamed Khaled was responding to Tanah Merah MP Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, who had asked for an update on the second phase of the LCA procurement programme, including whether it had been registered under the 13MP and the cost involved.
The government in 2023 selected South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50 light fighter aircraft for TUDM’s LCA programme, with 18 aircraft currently on order under the first phase of the acquisition, according to a Reuters report in November 2024.