Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak has announced plans to close a deal to buy F/A-18F fighter jets from the United States by the end of the year, a report said today.

Najib said discussions on technical performance were underway with the US Navy and the aircraft-makers Boeing Company and he hoped to finalise the details by the end of the year or by early 2003.

He was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying no letter of intent had been issued and declined to reveal the number of jets involved in the agreement.

Najib was responding to reports Thursday that the Pentagon had notified the US Congress of a possible sale to Malaysia of 18 of the fighters as part of a deal that could be worth nearly US$1.5 billion (RM5.7 billion).

Trade-in

"I can't confirm this (amount) because it depends on the configuration and numbers. We are also going to trade in our (US-made) FA-18/D model," Najib said.

Besides the aircraft, the sale is expected to include aircraft engines, radar systems, countermeasure sets and guided missile launchers.

If purchased, the F/A-18F, used as a carrier-borne fighter by the US Navy, will join the Russian-made MiG-29N, US-made FA-18/D and the British-made Hawks in Malaysia's fighter aircraft fleet.

Najib said Malaysia was upgrading its defense systems to protect the country from internal and external threats, and was not in an arms race to launch attacks on other countries.

Modernisation programme

"Malaysians should not talk about it... every time we buy something, the people always linked it to an arms race. But when others buy, nobody says anything," he said.

Malaysia has embarked on an armed forces modernisation programme that has seen the government order British and Russian missile systems worth US$364 million (RM1.3 billion), in addition to plans to buy more than 60 tanks from Poland.

It is also considering a deal to buy Russian Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jets.

In June, it sealed a US$972 million (RM3.7 billion) deal to buy three French submarines to establish its first fleet of subs. AFP