BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE
Prime Minister's ire at Washington's actions in Iraq leads to openings for Brazil and Russia
Malaysia is buying 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighters and is eyeing four Embraer airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft as political conditions exclude US-built equipment.
US manufacturers expect Malaysia's long-planned purchase of Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets to be delayed until at least next year. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are also competing against Embraer in the AEW competition, but say if a selection is made this year they cannot win.
Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has criticised the Iraq war and appears to have put a hold on any US defence purchases. US manufacturers hope relations will improve after Mahathir leaves office at the end of the year.
Mahathir has instead been building up trade with other countries, including Brazil, France and Russia. Malaysia's signing last week of a preliminary Su-30 contract was not unexpected, but the purchase was larger than expected.
Budget constraints forced Malaysia earlier this year to cut its planned numbers for the Su-30 and F/A-18F from 18 to 12 each (Flight International, 15-21 April). Industry officials say Malaysia later pushed the Su-30 purchase back up to 18, partly to secure a lower unit price.
Officials say Malaysia is now negotiating with Thales for an avionics package similar to that on Indian Su-30MKIs, but without the Israeli equipment. The purchase is due by the end of September with deliveries beginning in 2006.
Although much of the $900 million Sukhoi deal will be funded by palm oil, it could drain Malaysia's limited budget and result in a further contraction of F/A-18F numbers to eight, while the AEW programme may also move ahead of the F/A-18F purchase.
Last week Malaysia sent a delegation to Brazil to evaluate Embraer's EMB-145SA, equipped with the Ericsson Erieye radar. A visit to the USA is planned for August to evaluate the Northrop Grumman E-2C, Lockheed Martin P-3, C-130 AEW and possibly the Boeing 737 AEW&C.
Source: Flight International
