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| Malaysia submits initial RFI for South Korea’s FA-50 light fighter |
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has the potential to acquire South Korea's FA 50 jet. It is known from several tenders submitted, Malaysia chose FA 50 as the favourite.
As is known, Malaysia wants to buy 36 light fighter aircraft. This includes trainer aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force program. The participants who took part in the competition were South Korea's FA-50 Golden Eagle, India's Tejas, Turkey's Hurjet, Russia's MiG-35, and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17.
Even so, the FA-50 Golden Eagle is said to be Malaysia's top choice. Quoted from Bulgarian Military, Malaysian sources said that Kuala Lumpur will most likely choose South Korea's FA-50 Golden Eagle. A positive statement about the FA 50 was made by the head of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
It describes the Seoul aircraft as a reliable, affordable and effective platform for light combat aircraft compared to other participants. However, the announced tender is still in process and much remains unknown.
First, in Malaysia, they claimed that out of all participants, planes from India, Turkey, and South Korea were the ones selected to go forward. Second, Malaysia is gearing up for elections with a government expected to be elected in 2023.
If the current government wins the election, the auction will continue with participants who have passed the first screening. Negotiations have also been carried out between FA-50 manufacturer Golden Eagle, South Korean company Korea Aerospace Industries, and representatives of the Malaysian authorities.
A potential deal was also discussed in April between the defense ministers of Malaysia and South Korea. However, details were not disclosed. And there is a possibility that Malaysia will operate the jets with the South Korean-made AESA radar.