Aerospace
These are two new challenges Malaysia faces in purchasing FA50.
These are two new challenges Malaysia faces in purchasing FA50.
Malaysia and South Korea are stuck with the final price of the FA 50 and Malaysia ask KAI to match the price of HAL Tejas Mk1A. they asked them to bring down the price of the unit price of the AESA radar and Inflight refueling capable FA 50 version from 50 million to 43 million USD to make it comparable to the price of Tejas MK-1A.
KAI selected a few of the fighter aircraft for the country’s defense squad which should be single-seater fighter jets and the trainer type of category aircraft with refueling facilities. Malaysia was chosen for the KAI’s FA 50 and Tejas fighter jet from HAL. finally, it selected the Korean fighter jet.
which India offered to Malaysia despite Mk-1A having a higher TRM AESA and better Weapons package including Brahmos capability, KAI, however, is not agreeing to this demand as it would mean a loss for the company which has not yet completed certification of the equipment listed in RMAF RFP requirements.
Another reason behind KAI’s reluctance is that, unlike India which is the sole owner of the Tejas program and has exclusive rights to decide which systems to buy/make to integrate with Tejas as per customer demands, Fa-50 is a Joint program between US company Lockheed Martin and Korean KAI, thus certification and integration of new equipment for Fa-50 would be more time consuming and expensive.
There is also the possibility of limiting the technology transfer if it builds in Malaysia. there are challenges which have to face it by Malaysia with KAI.
While this stalemate between both sides over the pricing might not be a deal breaker, as per Malaysian media it might delay the signing of the final contract by a month.
