If the plan to acquire 30 ex-Kuwaiti Air Force (KAF) ‘legacy’ Hornets for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is approved by the Trump administration, the RMAF could emerge as a key training provider for the Middle Eastern air force.
Twentytwo13 has learnt that as part of the deal, the RMAF would provide ‘post-graduate’ air combat ‘courses’ for the KAF.
While details have not been confirmed, it is believed that this will include a whole spectrum of capabilities, including defensive, and offensive air operations.
This could be split further into air combat manoeuvring (1 v 1, 2 v 1, multiples v 1), defensive counter-air, close air support (CAS), offensive counter-air, suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD), denial of enemy air defences (DEAD), precision bombing, low-level strike, anti-shipping, and interdiction/strike.
It is also learnt that this is being offered to Kuwait as part of the KAF Hornet acquisition package. The deal would work in the Kuwaitis’ favour as they transition to their new Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, under their force modernisation programme.
However, the acquisition of the ex-KAF Hornet stocks could still be axed by United States President Donald Trump. On Jan 29, Twentytwo13 reported that Trump, who took office about three weeks ago, could scupper the deal in retaliation to Malaysia aligning itself with BRICS. He could still use it as leverage to pressure Malaysia to exit the trade bloc.
Malaysia was accepted as a BRICS ‘partner country’ along with neighbours Thailand and Indonesia, in October 2024.
The US has the final say on the deal since the F/A-18C/D Hornets were built by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing).
On Feb 1, Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said the acquisition of the ex-KAF Hornets is expected to be finalised this year, once all the documentation between the KAF and the United States is settled, “soon”.
“So far, the procurement of the 30 aircraft is in the final stages of discussions following KAF’s green light, after both parties agreed in principle with our intention to obtain the aircraft immediately,” Adly added.
Kuwait purchased 39 legacy Hornets in the mid-1990s, soon after the first Gulf War. In 2018, it finalised a deal worth USD1.17 billion for 28 of the more advanced Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, to replace the C/Ds.
However, the RMAF’s plan to acquire KAF’s legacy Hornets stalled after some delays, brought on by the political imbroglio in Kuwait, and production issues with the Super Hornet’s manufacturer, Boeing.
Delays in the delivery of the Super Hornets to Kuwait affected RMAF’s planned acquisition of the legacy Hornets. The project has been on the slow burner since 2021. The Kuwaiti Super Hornets are now expected to be fully operational by 2027.
Under the proposed RMAF-KAF deal, the Kuwaitis would set up a detachment of the their old Hornets, complete with an as-yet unspecified number of airframes, spares shop, and support infrastructure.
A similar arrangement is used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, the United States, to train their Boeing F-15SG Strike Eagle fighter pilots. The RSAF maintains a ‘semi-permanent’ detachment in Idaho – dubbed Peace Carvin V. It has a similar detachment at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for its Block 52+ Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds, under the Peace Carvin II programme.
While the Hornet and Super Hornet are essentially different aircraft, with only about 20 per cent commonality (despite being visually similar), the tactics and procedures used can be applied fleet-wide.
The RMAF operates a number of different aircraft, including the Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flanker, and Korea Aerospace Industries’ FA-50M Fighting Eagle, that will soon replace the ageing BAE Systems Hawk 108/208s. The initial batch of 18 FA-50Ms are expected to be delivered in October 2026.
This arrangement will provide the Kuwaitis with a wealth of experience in fighting ‘dissimilar’ aircraft in what is known in the fighter community as ‘DACT’ (Dissimilar Air Combat Training). The RMAF will function as an ‘advanced, post-graduate training centre’ for the Kuwaitis, flying ‘adversary’ or ‘Red Air’ duties against the Kuwaiti pilots.
The RMAF conducts DACT sorties over three instrumented ‘ACMI’ (Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrument) ranges – the first in the west of Penang over the sea, the second over Gerik until Cameron Highlands, and the third, south of Kuala Terengganu, until Chukai. Systems monitoring is done in two ‘TACT’ (Tactical Air Combat Training) centres – Butterworth and Kuantan, Pahang.
The aircraft flying these sorties will be fitted with ‘ACMI’ pods. Each pod will record all the flight and weapons release parameters and feed the information via telemetry to the ‘TACT’ centres. The stored information will be played back during the extensive debriefs, providing aircrew with a ‘God’s eye’ view of each engagement.
Main image: RMAF
