Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin’s official visit to Kuwait signals the final push to finalise the deal to acquire Kuwaiti Air Force’s (KAF) F/A-18C/D Hornet fighters to bolster the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (RMAF) capabilities.
Observers say the deal is tantalisingly close after years of false starts, hiccups, budgetary constraints, and political indecision.
The move is part of Malaysia’s broader efforts to modernise its ageing fleet of frontline combat aircraft and increase the number of combat jets in its inventory.
The RMAF currently has 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers (acquired in 2007) and eight Boeing F/A-18D Hornets (delivered in 1994), which constitute the bulk of its offensive and defensive punch. These are supplemented by 28 BAE Systems Hawk 108/208s in the light attack role, which were purchased in 1994.
In 2022, Twentytwo13 highlighted the ‘capability gap’ the RMAF would face if three major programmes were not undertaken – the proposed overhaul and mid-life upgrade of the eight Boeing F/A-18D Hornets, the purchase of additional aircraft to supplement these Hornets, and the selection and acquisition of a new multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) to augment or replace the Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers.
That same year, the Malaysian government approved the upgrade package for the Hornets under the SCS-29C (M) programme.
It is believed the upgrades included improved communications gear, radar homing and warning (RHAW) receivers, and a Link-16 datalink system. However, the replacement of the old AN/APG-73 pulse-Doppler multimode radars with state-of-the-art Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar sets, such as the AN/APG-83 SABR or the AN/APG-79v4, and the addition of the Link-16 system, did not materialise. The newer radars and datalink system would have given Hornet crews the ability to quickly pick out targets and provide a “first look, first shot, first kill” capability.
These enhancements would bring the RMAF Hornets on a par with the more modern Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block IIs and improve their combat survivability.
In June of this year, Twentytwo13 reported that the RMAF had sent a technical evaluation team to Kuwait earlier that month to resume talks on acquiring 33 airframes from KAF stocks. Some analysts estimate that the actual number is closer to 24.
The proposed Malaysian acquisition follows the KAF’s modernisation programme, which will see the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F/A-18E/F forming the bulk of the country’s air defence capability.
The Kuwaiti Super Hornets are expected to arrive by 2026. However, reports indicate that the schedule has slipped, with deliveries now expected to be in 2027. Malaysia is hoping to get the KAF legacy Hornets by 2027. However, Twentytwo13 has learnt that the Kuwaitis would only release their legacy Hornets after they achieve full operational capability on their Super Hornets – in 2008.
Khaled arrived at Kuwait International Airport on Sunday afternoon and was greeted by His Excellency ‘Alauddin Mohd Nor, the Malaysian Ambassador to Kuwait, and Lieutenant-General Bandar Salem Abdullah Al-Muzayan, Chief of Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces.
He is scheduled to meet Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, as well as his counterpart Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Kuwait.
Additionally, Khaled will tour the Ahmad Al-Jaber Air Base, which coincidentally, is home to three KAF F/A-18C/D squadrons: 9 Squadron, 25 Squadron, and 61 Squadron.
The Malaysian delegation includes General Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan, Chief of the RMAF; Mohd Yani Daud, deputy secretary-general (policy) from the Malaysian Defence Ministry, along with senior officers from the ministry and the RMAF headquarters.
It is expected that Khaled will focus on the details of the transaction for the Kuwaiti Hornets, which were purchased in 1992 following the first Gulf War of 1991. Kuwait acquired 39 airframes to replace its ageing A-4KU Skyhawks, which saw limited combat in Desert Storm, against Iraq.