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Malaysian peacekeepers were detained by Hezbollah militants on March 3, 2024 after their Cendana Auto FFR vehicle has strayed into the militant controlled village of Hay al-Sellom near Dahiyeh in southern Lebanon.

Dahiyeh is located outside of UNIFIL’s area of responsibility and jurisdiction hence, amidst the on-going confrontation between the Shiite militants, supported and funded by Iran, against the Zionist near the border, the presence of such vehicles (despite clearly marked and painted with UN color scheme) in the village raised suspicions and hostilities.

Lebanese media showed video of the vehicle as well as the communication equipment inside.

The Malaysian peacekeepers were released and handed over to the Lebanese Army. No statement being made by MINDEF or the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) with regard to the incident.

Since joining the UNIFIL mission in 2007, at least 4 incidents had occurred involving Hezbollah militants and its supporters with the Malaysian peacekeepers.

In 2013, according to MALBATT 5 Staff Officer, Lt Kol Fazal Rahman, threat of Hezbollah militants often created problems for them (the peacekeepers).

“Our convoy was stopped by a Hezbollah group claiming that we took photographs in a restricted area. They seized our communication equipment and suspected us of spying for Israel.”

Following the incident, the Lebanese Armed Forces was contacted in order to retrieve back these equipment from the group.

On December 26, 2012, while on reconnaissance patrol in Sunni and Shiite population, a MALBATT 5 patrol was stopped by armed locals.

The gunmen had shown a signal asking for money from the Malaysian peacekeepers but was ignored. Several of them opened the back door of the peacekeepers’ vehicle and pointing their firearms before the Malaysians had decided to cease any form of communication with the gunmen by quickly shutting the door back and returned to their base.

In 2017, while covering for Deputy Ministry of Defence visit to nearby village near a UN base, members of Malaysian media and MALBATT 850-5 were surrounded by local villagers (pro Hezbollah) who had confiscated the media equipment over suspicion of spying. A discussion by local interpreter helped to tone down the villagers’ anger. (here)

Over these past 2 years, I have been writing sporadically in this blog due to many reasons. One of them is because of my “real life” work schedule which only gave me times to tweet in Twitter rather than write full fledged, appreciable articles in this blog.

My spin off project, Malaysia Space Herald, that focusses on topics related to Malaysian space activities is perhaps one of the reason of neglect to this blog as well.

That said, following recent calamity that befell on Twitter, obviously I should re-channel my focus on making Malaysia Flying Herald a household brand again. With that aspiration, I hope to revamped the approach of this blog through more engaging articles related to Malaysian aviation and defense matters, true to its initial objective that is to disseminate information and create awareness among Malaysian public about Malaysian defence.

Whenever possible, I will try to get aspiring, knowledgable, new generation defence enthusiasts to share their thoughts and suggestions with regard to Malaysian defence procurement and role that this country played in regional and global geopolitical arena.

In the mean time, to loyal readers and followers, thank you for supporting this blog.

In this alternate history of US Navy, CAPT Pete “Maverick” Mitchell USN is a new legend, the only modern warfare flying ace with 5 air kills including two of which were 5th Generation fighter, the Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO Reporting Name: Felon).

Other naval aviators would become heroes because they either went to space as astronauts or they have became top notch politicians. Maverick however simply became what he knew best, just a maverick. To other people, Maverick is best described as per the words of Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain, Director of the Darkstar program, Maverick’s superior,

Maverick. Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations. Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years.

Distinguished.’ ‘Distinguished.’ ‘Distinguished.’ Yet you can’t get a promotion, you won’t retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator. Yet here you are: Captain. Why is that?

Of course, Maverick casually answered to the irked of the admiral that, “It’s one of life’s mysteries”

Yet, if one studies the life of Maverick, he’s simply just another “McCain Family” of the navy only that, unlike the McCains who always rebel against the Navy but somehow managed to become top brass of the Navy, the Mitchells have been considered as unwanted and troublesome. In the words of CDR Tom “Stinger” Jardian, CAG of USS Enterprise,

And let’s not bullshit Maverick. Your family name ain’t the best in the Navy.

Maverick also came from a naval aviator family. He was introduced to naval aviation as young boy when his late father, LT Duke Mitchell USN brought him to NAS Miramar where VF-51 Screaming Eagle, where his father is stationed when the squadron had just transitioned to McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter.

Unlike the official history, the VF-51 went to war on board USS Oriskany instead of USS Coral Sea. Throughout this tour, the squadron managed to shot down 4 Mig-17 (NATO Reporting Name: Fresco). However, a top secret incident that occurred over China’s Hainan Island will be the one that shaped Maverick into what he is today.

As described by CDR Mike “Viper” Metcalf, the CO of Topgun and fellow squadron mate of Duke Mitchell,

We were in the worst dogfight I ever dreamed of. There were bogeys like fireflies all over the sky. His F-4 was hit, and he was wounded, but he could’ve made it back. He stayed in it, saved three planes before he bought it.

The incident happened over Hainan Island but Viper did not exactly tells the location as he simply implied to Maverick,

…the battle occurred over the wrong line on some map.

Maverick said his father died on November 6, 1965 but records from Department of Defence stated that an F-4 was shot down by a PLAAF Mig-17 on April 6, 1965. The discrepancies of date could be related to DOD attempt to hide the truth and shut everybody’s mouth in the Navy about the incident under the pretext of “Classified”. It is easier and convenient to blame dead people than to explain the whole truth over the expense of ruining the family of the deceased. To the eyes of everyone in the Navy, Duke Mitchell is just a troublemaker who had it coming for his negligence. As Stinger implored,

You (Maverick) need to be doing it better, and cleaner than the other guy (Duke). 

Which is what exactly Maverick is doing. He tried to secure an appointment into the US Naval Academy in Annapolis but this has been rejected many times for the obvious political reasons. Maverick could have probably find his way through the Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) which brought him into VF-142 “Ghostrider” squadron flying the F-14A Tomcat with RIO, Lt.jg Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.

The incident over Mediterranean Sea where his Tomcat as well as the one flown by Annapolis graduate, LT Bill “Cougar” Cortell and RIO, Lt.jg Sam “Merlin” Wells stumbled with 2 Mig-28 Tigerskii (NATO Reporting Name: Fantasy) as well his subsequent draft to Topgun and the tragic loss of Goose in a crash brought him to spotlight during SS Layton incident where Maverick redeemed himself, despite finishing No 2 at Topgun with 3 Mig-28 kills (shared with Merlin) while his Topgun rival (best student) turned best friend, LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky was supposed to be credited with 1 Mig-28 kill.

Iceman rose up the rank to become four star Flag officer as the US Navy’s Chief of Naval Operation (CNO) but died after battling with cancer. While it has been said that Iceman became benefactor and “guardian angel” to Maverick, truth be told, Maverick’s adventures in between the SS Layton and the attack on Iran’s nuclear facility are nothing more but impressive.

While he was given a chance to become instructor at Topgun, apparently it only lasted for 3 months before Maverick flying single seat McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet because he seems to be comfortable flying solo after the passing of Goose. The only other back seater that he’d ever flown with inside the Hornet would be Penny Benjamin.

You said that after they busted you for taking me on a joy ride in that F-18, and the next thing I know, you’re off to Bosnia, then Iraq, both times

Penny’s description may be off the timeline’s sequence. Essentially he flew Hornets over Gulf War in 1990 before returning to fly Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter over Bosnia as an exchange pilot in the USAF. He’d probably flew F/A-18C with VFA-94 Mighty Shrikes squadron out of USS Nimitz during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He returned to report to Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River and found out that flight testing is in his blood. He would flew on board US Navy’s brand new LockheedMartin F-35C Lightning II with VFA-101 Grim Reaper before eventually find his way into the LockheedMartin SR-72 Darkstar program.

Well the rest is history as the Saga of Maverick had told us in Topgun:Maverick

The flag of Federated Malay States

Malaya was once one of the Empire’s most important colony providing precious tin to support the growing industry of Great Britain. As war clouds loom over the world, the Sultans of Federated Malay States namely Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Perak were worried about the defense of Malaya. They have previously donated a significant amount of money for the acquisition of a destroyer christened HMS Malaya. The mighty ship however never being deployed to protect the waters of Malay Peninsular.

HMS Malaya

In 1935, the Federated Malay State’s Sultans donated another £ 2.5 million to the British for the establishment and formation of 2 amphibian squadron due for aerial defense of Malay Peninsular. As a result, 4 Shorts Sunderland amphibians were bought and stationed at RAF Seletar, Singapore. These Sunderlands were put under the newly reformed No.230 SQN which was previously being equipped with Shorts Singapore.

As war in Europe intensifies, these Sunderland were later withdrawn from Malay Peninsular to be stationed at Mediterranean theater for the defense of Egypt and Malta. Only one of these four aircraft survived the war. Their service summaries are as follow

L2160 Selangor.

During World War 2, the crews manage to shot a single Italian fighter during its mission over Tobruk in 21 June 1941. The aircraft survived the war and was transferred to No.4 (Coastal) OUT until being retired and disposed as scrap.

L2161 Negeri Sembilan

The aircraft caught fire during 23 April 1941 action after being attack by Luftwaffe Ju-87 Stuka. The Stukas were just finished bombing HMS Syvern. The crew managed to shot down a single Stuka while attempting to take off with only three engines running. However, after having great deal of enemy fire blow, one of the internal fuel tanks leaked and burst into flame.

L2164 Pahang

During the Mediterranean conflict, the aircraft was transferred to No.228 SQN. The Pahang was attacked by Luftwaffe’s Bf 109 fighter while terra firma at St Paul Bay, Malta. As a result, the aircraft subsequently caught fire. One of its crew died while exchanging fire with enemy aircraft. Three days later, two Bf 109 attack it and causing it to sink at the bottom of the sea.

Bf 109 over Malta

L2166 Perak

Sunk while on an anti submarine mission over Mediterranean Sea in August 1^st, 1941. Anti aircraft fire from Italian submarine, the Delfino hit the aircraft’s depth charge causing significant damage to the aircraft. All crews manage to escape but were taken as prisoners by the enemy.

Italian Delfino submarine

The Malaysian Army Aviation Force (Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat -PUTD) has issued a leasing tender which could see 4 medium lift utility helicopters being leased from aviation companies for a period of three to five years under Performance Based Contract.

The 4 medium lift helicopters will be used as one-to-one replacement of Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri helicopters previously flown by Rej 882 out of Butterworth AFB until 2020. It has been reported that the tender exercise has attracted 6 bidders offering Leonardo AW139 and Sikorsky S-70/UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Both types of helicopters are seen as strong candidates for their own reasons.

With the exception of PUTD, all other service branches in the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) as well as parapublic agencies including the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP), the Malaysian Coast Guard (officially the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency or MMEA) and the Fire and Rescue Department (commonly known as the BOMBA) are currently using the AW139. With widespread use, there will be no problems in terms of support services, training and maintenance. PWN Excellence currently operates a full flight simulator of the AW139 which does not only trains local pilots but also regional operators of the AW139 including from Vietnam as well as those from the Australian Army.

AW139 serving the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) No 503 Skn and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) No 3 Skn have both prove that the helicopter is suitable to support various roles and operations conducted by the military especially when it comes to Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC), Special Operations (SpecOps) and heliborne operation.

In fact the Navy examples, three of which are now based at NAS Kota Kinabalu are equipped with maritime search radar as well as M3M heavy machine Gun (HMG).

That said, the Blackhawk is also not a stranger to the Malaysian military. Since 1997, the RMAF’s No 2 Skn has been operating 2 Sikorsky S-70A Whitehawk for VVIP air transportation out of Subang AFB. 25 years had passed but the Air Force’s Blackhawk still remain a reliable vertical transportation platform for this country’s Head of State and Head of Government.

In 2015, there has been a plan to hand over these Whitehawks to PUTD along with 5 S-70A’s previously operated by the Royal Bruneian Air Force (Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei -TUDB). These Blackhawks will be refurbished and later armed with Dillon M134 Gatling guns to support military operations over Bay of Brunei and the East Sabah Security Zone (ESSZON). That plan however failed to materialised.

As the US military had surplus Blackhawks following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, some of these have been upgraded and refurbished as well as being offered in PUTD’s tender exercise. According to famous Malaysian defence journalist, Marhalim Abbas, there is also at least one bidder that offer a brand new Blackhawk built by PZL Mielec as S-70i.

The S-70i is perhaps the best selling Blackhawk variant in ASEAN. The Philippines Air Force (PhilAF) is the most numerous operators with 16 in service and 32 more on order. TUDB on the other hand replaces its early model Blackhawks (the one offered to PUTD) and ageing Bell 212 helicopters with 12 S-70i. It has been reported that TUDB is looking for additional S-70i to boost its fleet.

Regardless of whether the Blackhawk or the AW139 will win the PUTD contract, any of those types of helicopters will certainly brings and adds value to PUTD as well as the Malaysian Army (Tentera Darat Malaysia – TDM) in general. These helicopters will certainly support the deployment and resupply of provisions (RESUP) to TDM’s Border Regiment (Rejimen Sempadan – RS) as well as heliborne ops by 10th Parachute Brigade (10 Bgd Para) and the Army special forces from 21st Special Forces Group (21 GGK).

Indonesia’s TransNusa Airlines has signed a leasing deal with China Aircraft Leasing Co (CALC) for 30 COMAC ARJ21 regional jetliner as part of the airline’s plan to expand its operation throughout Indonesia. The deal is seen as an attempt for COMAC to penetrate into international market considering that the jetliner has been in production line for 15 years but as of date, only 96 aircraft being produced but mostly for China’s market.

China had previously supplied 15 of its Xian MA-60 turbopropliners to Merpati Nusantara Airlines beginning from 2007. (here) The aircraft however were not very popular in Indonesia due to various crash incidents that occurred in 2011 and 2013 killing 25 people and injuring 25 others.

On May 7, 2011 Flight 8968 (r/n: PK-MZK) went into sea only 500 metres from the runway in bad weather with poor visibility on visual approach to Kaimana Airport, Kaimana, West Papua in Indonesia. It had left Sorong Airport with 19 passengers and 6 crew members on board. All passengers and crew were killed, making this the first reported fatal accident for the Xian MA60 in Indonesia.

On June 10, 2013 Flight 6517 (r/n: PK-MZO) from Bajawa to Kupang, with 50 people on board landed hard at Kupang airport in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. 25 people were injured. The plane, which had been damaged beyond repair.

In order to give momentum and traction to a seemingly highly potential regional jetliner market, CALC has bought 35.68% of TransNusa shares in 2020 which is valued at around USD28million (here). The Indonesian airline took a hit during Covid-19 pandemic and has now rebrand itself as low cost carrier in order to keep up with Indonesia’s cut throat regional airline industry where various airlines going head-to-head with each other to seize the market share.

Indonesia’s aerospace pioneer and former President, the late B.J. Habibie had foreseen the potential of regional aviation and airline industry of the country considering the large population that spread across the wide archipelago. He had planned for multi tier approach that include introduction of regional turbopropliner, N-250 as well as regional jetliner, the N-2130. Both have since being abandoned following Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) financial difficulties due to Asian Monetary and Economic Crisis in 1997.

It remains to be seen whether ARJ21 would be a money making platform just like its contemporaries especially the Embraer E-Jet. More importantly, ARJ21 safety record would be scrutinised as Indonesian air safety records are among the worst in the region. So far no air accidents have been reported and recorded related to the ARJ21. That said, it is still too early to be convinced with an aircraft that no other countries except for China has ever flown or use before.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has recently announced that the new unity Government under his leadership will be tabling a new budget to the Malaysian parliament in 2023. The tabling of the new Bajet 2023 will be made concurrently with the opening of the first session of parliament in 2023 by His Majesty the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Dipertuan Agong, the King of Malaysia.

According to Anwar, the new budget will be given “fresh breath” and adopt new approach that will cover the issue of poverty, inequality and specific measures to ensure a fresher climate to encourage investment, restore confidence and drive economic growth. Concern over potential recession and economic slowdown in 2023 has been the major concern among Malaysians as highlighted in their votes during the recent 15th General Election.

This Blogger has take the opportunity to ask his follower in Twitter of whether defence initiatives and programs announced by then Defence Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn a few days before the dissolution of the Parliament last October would be affected and revised as well.

Around 198 people from 316 respondents said “Yes” while 86 people said they have “No Idea” whether these defence initiatives would be revised or not by Anwar Ibrahim, since the Prime Minister also assume the Minister of Finance portfolio.

Anwar Ibrahim also appoints former Mentri Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Mohamad Hassan as the Defence Minister. Both Anwar and Mohamad Hassan have never lead Ministry of Defence before hence there have been concerns of whether the two, as Prime Minister/Minister of Finance and Defence Minister would be able to address major issues involving defence of the country.

Arif Rosikin in his Twitter handle (@ArifRosikin) listed down major defence programs implemented during Anwar Ibrahim’s first held the post of Minister of Finance from 1991 till 1998. Anwar has approved the procurement of 28 BAe Hawk Mk 108/208 in 1993; 4 Beechcraft B200TMP maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) in 1994; 18 MiG-MAPO built Mikoyan Gurenvich Mig-29N/NUB (NATO Reporting Name: Fulcrum) supersonic interceptor and 8 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D++ Nitestrike Hornet in 1995 for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)

He had also approved the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN)’s procurements including 2 Jebat class frigates in 1994, 4 Laksamana class corvettes in 1995 from the Italian Navy (Marina Militare Italiano) and budget approval for 27 Kedah class New Generation Patrol Vessel (NGPV).

As for the Malaysian Army (Tentera Darat Malaysia – TDM), 111 Daewoo K200 Korean Infantry Fighting Vehicle (KIFV) have been procured in 1993 to fulfill urgent operation requirement in the Balkan following Serbian armour threats on Malaysian peacekeeping force known as MALBATT UNPROFOR. The list is incomplete but at least it shows Anwar Ibrahim’s point of view on defence matters.

Considering that 62.7% of respondent said “Yes” to possibilities of next year’s defence budget being revised, this Blogger asked the extend of revision. 71.8% of the respondents confide that half of the initiatives and programs announced by the then Defence Minister could be scrapped, cancelled or postponed.

Over the question of which of 4 defence programs mentioned in the previous Government’s Bajet 2023 namely Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Light Combat Aircraft/ Fighter Lead In Trainer (LCA/FLIT), Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MALE UAV) and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) as well as Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) problematic Maharajalela class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a whopping 68.3% of respondents said LCS is very likely the one that could be put on the chopping block next year.

As LCS is suffering from severe delays and cost overrun, perhaps the best way to solve the problem would be by cancelling the project once and for all. As an Opposition Leader, Anwar Ibrahim has been calling for the then Government to cancel the LCS project following Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report with regard to the delays of the project.

That said, 13.9% of respondents had the opinion that LCA/FLIT could also be a probable defence procurement project that could face similar fate like LCS. Meanwhile 11.9% respondents thinks MALE UAS should be scrapped instead.

That said, all four of these programs are considered as high priority programs considering the fact that the country is having challenges to protect its strategic natural resources including fisheries ground and hydrocarbon deposits as well as national interests throughout its stipulated 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) especially in the South China Sea.

Malaysia is one of the countries locked in maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea where China has been asserting its claim over the whole of the water bodies despite lack of solid proofs to support such claim. In order to establish very apparent presence in the waters disputed, China had build structures and deployed naval assets to validate its claim.

A strong and stable economy is needed and strong defence is among key enablers for such endevour. For this, 92.3% of respondents agree with such call.

Bajet 2023 announced by the Perikatan Nasional Government under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob allocated RM17.4 billion for defence allocation. When compared to current GDP, that translate into 0.98% from the country’s GDP, a decline from 1.01% of GDP in Bajet 2022.

This is much lower than the relative percentage requested by the Chief of Defence Force and Chief of the Navy for the defence budget to be increased to 1.5% from the country’s current GDP. This means that the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) should be allocated with budget allocation of around RM26.6 billion.

So this Blogger has again turn to his followers to ask the magic numbers for defence allocations. It is a split views with 37.7% respondents agrees with 1.5% of GDP while 32.5% of respondents agrees that defence allocation under Bajet 2023 should be slightly more than 1% of GDP.

The United States Air Force (USAF) and NorthropGrumman have jointly unveiled the latest generation of America’s bomber designated as the B-21 Raider. The blended wing body stealth bomber has features of its predecessor, the B-2 Spirit, also built by NorthropGrumman as well as from other “flying wing” aircraft built by the company including the X-47B “Pegasus” experimental carrier borne, unmanned combat aerial vehicle as well as the highly secretive RQ-180 spy drone.

USAF takes the opportunity to showcase its current stealth fighter and bomber fleet including LockheedMartin F-35 Lightning II, Boeing B-1B Lancer and the B-2. At the same time NorthropGrumman also showcased its X-47B UCAV outside of the hangar where the B-21 was first shown to the public.

Both the company and the Air Force took close scrutiny on how the 6th generation bomber would be displayed to the public taking into consideration of previous experience during the unveiling of the B-2 in 1988 when a civilian aircraft with defence reporter on board flew overhead and took the famous plan view picture of the then highly secretive stealth bomber.

Both China and Russia are now adopting similar “flying wing” design configuration in their respective stealth bomber programs. China is expected to unveil its H-20/H-XX bomber which owes much of its design through espionage activities on the B-2.

Russia on the other hand will be rolling out its Tupolev built PAK-DA bomber (Code Name: Poslannik) sometime in 2028 after previously announcing that the bomber will be undergoing test in 2023. It is likely that War in Ukraine and Russian Aerospace Force (RusAF) emphasize on modernised and new built Tupolev Tu-160 (NATO Reporting Name: Blackjack) means that more delays will be suffered by the PAK-DA program.

At least 2 B-21 have been built, with one of these being dedicated for ground testing. 6 more B-21 are currently being built. The USAF is expected to order 100 B-21 but will eventually buy 75 to 100 more of these bombers to boost its bomber fleet.

Malaysian Army (Tentera Darat Malaysia – TDM) is looking for 59 High Mobility Light Tactical Vehicle (HMLTV) to boost its capabilities. The HMLTV might be in the same category of Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) produced by Lockheed Martin, Nimr Ajban from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and MILDEF Rentaka.

Whether this will be used for deployment in southern Lebanon under UNIFIL peacekeeping mission or to boost the security of east coast of Sabah which fall under the responsibilities of East Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) is yet to be revealed.

Earlier, the Malaysian peacekeeping contingent known as MALBAT will be receiving 15 Nurol Makin Ejdar Yalcin 4×4 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) out of 20 ordered by TDM to joint 9 IAG Guardian 4×4 XTreme APC which will replace 39 (out of 42) Radpanzer Condor 4×4 APC delivered since 2010.

On October 9, 2022 a day before the Parliament was dissolved, then Minister of Defence announced that 136 APC and various Type B Vehicle (Kenderaan Jenis B – KJB) will be procured as part of the larger USD440 million budget allocation set under Bajet 2023 announced a few days earlier. No specific type of APC has been revealed.

That said, DEFTECH is promoting Pars 4×4 APC together with FNSS which shares certain design and components with the FNSS/DEFTECH AV-8 Gempita 8×8 Armoured Wheeled Vehicle (AWV). MILDEF on the other hand is promoting its Tarantula 4×4 High Mobility Tactical Vehicle (HMTV) to fulfill TDM’s APC requirments.

Prototype of the Tarantula and Rentaka have been displayed at various events involving the TDM including the Merdeka Day Parade held in Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur on August 31, 2022 in conjunction with Malaysia’s 65 years of independence from British Colonial rule.

TDM is also looking forward to modernise and upgrade its Daewoo K200A1 Malaysian Infantry Fighting Vehicle (MIFV) as well as FNSS/DEFTECH ACV300 Adnan tracked Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV). Recently ASELSAN and FNSS has revealed the ZMA-15 upgrade of the ACV-15, of which the ACV-300 design was derived from.

The ZMA-15 features unmanned turret with 30mm gun as well as better powerplant and protection. It is likely some, if not all of the ZMA-15 features will be incorporated into the Malaysian Adnan Gen 2 project.

Again, both MILDEF and DEFTECH will be competing to bring forth the best upgrade program for the Adnan AIFV. Regardless of the winner, FNSS will be the main contractor of the project.

With the new “unity” Government under Anwar Ibrahim has been set up, it is very likely that the program will be reviewed under revised Bajet 2023 to be tabled to the Parliament soon. It remains to be seen which defence programs will be spared and given thumbs up to proceed as planned.

At Dubai Airshow 20221, a new variant of the Sino-Pak jet trainer designated as the K-8NG (New generation) was unveiled albeit in scaled model format. The K-8 Karrakoram has been locally assembled by PAC Kamra to replace Pakistani Air Force (PAF) aging Cessna T-37 Tweet jet trainers. Pilots who progresses from the aircraft will be assigned to Guizhou FT-7P lead in fighter trainer before being assigned to other fighter squadrons.

That said, the FT-7P jet trainers, modified with various Western system from the baseline design of Chinese built Guizhou JJ-7 trainers, are aging fast. In 2021, a fatal crash involving the Pakistani trainer had killed 2 pilots on board.

Apparently there is a great gap for fast jet pilots to transistioned from docile, subsonic K-8 to much faster FT-7P. As more twin seat variant of the PAC Kamra assembled JF-17B Bravo Thunder being inducted into service, the problem still persist whether the equally fast JF-17B is the best platform for student pilots to train with.

It is from this realisation that Hongdu has come up with the K-8NG variant. As light combat aircraft, it is equipped with an air-to-air missile system and has a capacity of carrying 4.6 tons payload. It was redesigned to meet requirement set in MIL-F-8785C IV for highly maneuverable aircraft.

The K-8NG will have digital cockpit to better prepare student pilots to transitioned to either the JF-17 or F-16. Whether it will have more powerful powerplant is unknown.