India's Tejas aircraft top choice for Malaysia's fighter jet fleet; final talks underway

In the backdrop of the Western sanctions imposed against Russia since the beginning of the war with Ukraine, several countries including Malaysia have been facing challenges in producing aircraft spare parts from Russia. Malaysia, which had already started looking for options for replacing its ageing fleet of fighter jets, has now chosen India as its top choice and is holding final negotiations to take the procurement process forward.  

As reported by PTI, India's Tejas light combat aircraft has emerged as the top choice for Malaysia among other competitors including China's JF-17 jet, South Korea's FA-50, and Russia's Mig-35 as well as the Yak-130 plane. Confirming the same, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), R Madhavan, told PTI in an interview that "he is very confident" about the closing of the mega-deal between both the countries. 

Notably, as part of the package, India has offered to set up an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility in Malaysia for its Russian-origin Su-30 fighter fleet keeping in view the difficulties faced by the Southeast Asian nation in procuring spares from Russia. 

The deal, if finalised will give a 'very good signal' to other buyers: HAL MD

Speaking on the potential of the deal for Tejas light combat aircraft, the top executive of the state-run aerospace behemoth further asserted that the deal if closed will give a 'very good signal' to other prospective buyers of the aircraft and boost its overall export potential. 

"The negotiation is almost in the final stages. We are the only country that is offering them the support for their Su-30 aircraft as well as other than Russia, we are the only one who can support them to the extent that they require for that fleet. A team of high-ranking officials and experts is expected to visit India soon to take forward the procurement process", he added. 

It is pertinent to note that the Chinese JF-17 was comparatively cheaper, however, it could not match the technical parameters of the Tejas Mk-IA variant and the offer of maintenance of the Su-30 fleet as proposed by India, Madhavan said, further claiming that India's Tejas is a much superior aircraft compared to China and South Korean jets and thus India will provide the country with more options for future upgrades of their fleet. 

(Image: PTI)