[Tee tiong huat]

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is inching closer towards acquiring Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter jets to beef up the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
He said M'sia was waiting for Kuwait's response, adding from a technical standpoint. Hornet fighter jets were suitable for RMAF's needs as Kuwait's F/A-18C & F/A-18D Hornets had lower op hours than RMAF's existing Hornets. Malaysia has eight F/A-18D Hornets and 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKMs in its Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) fleet.

The RMAF began its MRCA acquisition programme in 2011, with a planned entry of service date between 2015 & 2016. While it was initially reported the RMAF was seeking to procure 18 aircraft, this rose to 24 to 40 new aircraft in 2014. Experts believe acquiring F/A-18C & F/A-18D Hornets would improve RMAF's capabilities, particularly in South China Sea, where greater militarisation is taking place.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/...uwait-jets

The New Straits Times understands details.
Procurement are expected to be on cards during Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin's visit to Kuwait This is among matters expected to be discussed during Khaled's courtesy call on Kuwait 1st Deputy PM Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah. Sheikh Fahad is also defence minister & interior minister. Khaled also is meeting an audience with Kuwait PM Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. 

Kuwait AirForce has 39 F/A-18C & F/A-18D Hornet jets, from single-seat to 2-seat jets, in June a technical team from RMAF visited Kuwait to discuss it, procurement was also discussed after Kuwaiti ambassador to M'sia Rashed Mohammad Al-Saleh visited Defence Ministry following mth. In August, Khaled said M'sia was working with Kuwait about the procurement.

RMAF recently purchased 18 South Korean-made FA-50Ms to replace the RMAF's fleet of BAE Hawk 208/108 light fighters & lead-in fighter trainers. FA-50M aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2026. This left a gap in MRCA fleet after retirement of 16 Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29N Fulcrums 7-years ago. Plans to replace MiG-29Ns, air defence role, were reportedly put on hold due to budgetary constraints.