Malaysia’s first FA-50Ms land in Kuantan

Korea-built jets are central to air force’s modernisation plans, and first FA-50s delivered with a new AESA radar.
Malaysia’s air force has received its first pair of Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50M light attack jets.

The two aircraft, M58-01 and M58-02, travelled to the country’s Kuantan air base from KAI’s Sacheon factory, which they departed on 29 October, says Malaysia’s defence ministry.

The aircraft made stops in Jeju, the Philippine city of Laoag, and the Malaysian island of Labuan before finally reaching Kuantan on 1 November.

The jets were flown by KAI pilots with Malaysian officers sitting the back seat. They will now undergo final acceptance tests, which are expected to be completed by the end of this month.

The two aircraft are the first of 18 aircraft Kuala Lumpur ordered in 2023 under its Fighter Lead In Trainer-Light Combat Aircraft Requirement, worth $920 million.

The delivery is also notable in that these are the first FA-50s to be delivered with an active electronically scanned array radar, in the form of the Raytheon PhantomStrike system.

The aircraft will replace Malaysia’s 15 BAE Systems Hawks, of which are single-seat Hawk 208s that serve in the strike role, and four are two-seat Hawk 108s that serve as trainers with a secondary strike mission.

The FA-50M will also serve as a replacement for the RAC MiG-29s that were retired nearly a decade ago in 2017.

Long-term plans call for Kuala Lumpur to order 18 additional FA-50Ms, which will give it an ultimate fleet of 36 examples.

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