Future fighter must match Malaysia's defence needs, not prestige

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will base its future multi-role combat aircraft requirement on capabilities that match Malaysia's defence stance and operational needs, rather than simply pursuing the most advanced fighter technology available.

RMAF chief General Tan Sri Muhamad Norazlan Aris said the decision on the future fighter fleet must consider the country's defensive posture, which was primarily focused on defending its sovereignty and airspace

"It must begin with a fundamental question: what capability does Malaysia require and what role does it need the aircraft to perform?

"Why do people design fifth generation and sixth generation? We have to ask ourselves. What is our defence policy? What are our policy choices?

"Advanced fighter technologies were developed based on the strategic needs of their operators, including countries that maintain expeditionary military capabilities and require long-range strike options.

"We are not expeditionary. We are defensive."

Norazlan, however, said the move should not be taken to mean that Malaysia would automatically opt for lower-end capabilities, as the country must ensure it had sufficient capability to defend itself and respond to threats.

"RMAF was also not focused on selecting a particular aircraft based on preference, but would instead study which platform best fulfilled the role required.

"I do not have a personal preference. First of all, as a service, we study which platform fits our role."

He added that acquiring a fighter aircraft should be similar to choosing technology based on actual requirements rather than prestige.

Beyond the choice of aircraft, Norazlan said RMAF was also reassessing the traditional approach of determining fighter fleet size.

He said RMAF needed to move away from focusing solely on aircraft quantity and instead assess the actual capability that a fleet could deliver.

"Conventional squadron size was based on previous operational concepts where different aircraft performed different roles, such as separate platforms for air-to-air missions and strike operations."

However, modern multi-role fighters are capable of performing multiple missions, potentially reducing the number of aircraft required to achieve the same operational effect.

"Maybe in the future, a squadron will only have a dozen aircraft because we want capability, not numbers."

Norazlan said this approach was also linked to ensuring Malaysia developed its air power in a realistic and sustainable manner.

He said the country must build capabilities incrementally, beginning with essential requirements before expanding towards more complex capabilities in the future.