Shifting Military Preferences

Prasun K. Sengupta

The 16th edition of Malaysia’s biennial Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition--LIMA 2023—was held from May 23 to 27 at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC), which is co-located with the Langkawi international airport, while the maritime segment of the expo was held at the Resorts World Langkawi (formerly known as Awana Porto Malai), some 12 km away from the MIEC.

Malaysian Prime Ministerial delegation visiting INS Kavaratti at LIMA 2023’s maritime segment

Altogether 600 local and foreign exhibitors were present at the expo from countries that included (apart from the host country) Türkiye, the United States, China, United Kingdom, France, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Thailand, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and the Czech Republic. The biggest pavilions were from Türkiye and UAE companies.

The impressions emerging from this expo were that countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, which had procured Russia-origin weapons and platforms since the early 1990s, are in no mood to procure any such systems from Moscow. Instead, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) from the US, Europe, Scandinavia, South Korea and Türkiye would be given preference. While Türkiye has made significant inroads into both Indonesia and Malaysia, Israeli OEMs are dominating the market in the Philippines. Russian OEMs continue to dominate the markets in Myanmar and Vietnam, China dominates in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The US and Israel remain dominant in Singapore, while in Malaysia, France has replaced the UK as the major supplier of equipment like air-defence radars, warships, submarines and military helicopters.

The contract signing ceremony for the sale of 18 FA-50 tandem-seat advanced trainers/ light fighters worth USD 920 million to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) took place on May 23. In February this year, South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) had inked a Letter of Acceptance with Malaysia’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) for the Light Combat Aircraft/Fighter Lead-In Trainer (LCA/FLIT) requirement and for the past three months was discussing details such as aircraft delivery times and follow-up logistics support.

It was in November 2022 that the KAI had won the LCA/FLIT competition, ending the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) bid to supply the Tejas Mk.1 (FORCE, October 2022). Eight FA-50s will be configured primarily as lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT) while the remaining 10 would be light multi-role combat aircraft (L-MRCA). The LIFTs will replace the RMAF’s seven Aermacchi MB-339CMs, which are currently grounded. The L-MRCAs will replace the 18 BAE Systems Hawk Mk.108 two-seat (trainer and attack) and Mk.208 single-seat light attack aircraft. The LCA/FLIT project is part of the RMAF’s ‘Capability 55’ plan. Launched in 2018, it stipulates the acquisition of 36 new LCA/ LIFT platforms in two phases with 18 aircraft to be purchased from 2021 and the remainder from 2025. The 36 aircraft are intended to equip one LIFT squadron and two L-MRCA squadrons.

Over the past decade, the FA-50 has scored several notable marketing successes, starting with the TA-50 light attack variant being ordered by Indonesia in 2011, with 16 of them entering service by 2014 while an additional six were ordered in 2021. Iraq ordered 24 of them in the T-50IQ variant in 2013, and received them in 2016. The Philippines ordered 12 FA-50 light fighter variants in 2014, which delivered over the next few years, and the country is now considering ordering another batch of 12 aircraft. Thailand ordered 12 T-50TH variants in 2015 and last year Poland ordered 48 FA-50s. Egypt is