Tejas Malaysia’s top choice for its new fighter jet plan.

July 4, 2022

India’s Tejas light combat aircraft has emerged as the top choice for Malaysia as the Southeast Asian nation looks at replacing its ageing fleet of fighter jets and the two sides are holding negotiations to firm up the procurement.
According to R Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Malaysia has narrowed down on the Indian aircraft notwithstanding the stiff competition from China’s JF-17 jet, South Korea’s FA-50 and Russia’s Mig-35 as well as Yak-130,
As part of the package, India has offered to set up an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in Malaysia for its Russian-origin Su-30 fighter fleet as it is facing difficulties in procuring spares for the aircraft from Russia in view of western sanctions against Moscow.
According to the top executive of the state-run aerospace behemoth if the deal is sealed, it will give a “very good signal” to other prospective buyers of the aircraft and boost its overall export potential.
According to R Madhavan, It (the negotiation) is almost in the final stages. India is the only country which is offering them the support for their Su-30 aircraft as other than Russia.