The Royal Malaysian Airforce (RMAF) has stated that insufficient operations funding is part of the reason for the low maintenance rate of its Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets. As a result, only a few are currently in use.

In a statement, the RMAF claimed insufficient funding was one of the two main reasons behind the jets' low maintenance rate. The other reason was that the jets had reached their 10-year mark and required mandatory servicing. 

The RMAF also stated that it had to resort to cutting costs by performing the mandatory servicing locally instead of sending them back to their Russian manufacturer.

This comes following the revelation by Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu in Parliament on Tuesday that only four of the 18 Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets purchased by the previous administration in 2007 are operational, while the rest had been sent in for repairs.

In a statement dated last night, the RMAF said: "Since 2007, the yearly operational allocation accorded to the RMAF has been on average, lower and insufficient, compared to the amount requested by the RMAF, based on what is actually needed to manage and service the RMAF's entire operational assets. This was acknowledged by the National Audit Department in its 2017 audit.

"This directly limited the maintenance spending needed to service all the logistical support needed for operating the 18 Su-30MKM jets. This has forced RMAF to carry out conservative maintenance work on the jets based on the allocated operations budget, leading to a low rate of maintenance."

At the same time, the RMAF stressed that jets that had attained 10 years of service were due for mandatory inspection and detailed servicing of their airframes, components and intricate flight systems.

This had been proposed by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the fighter jets to ensure the operational safety of the aircraft.

The RMAF added: "But the proposed cost (by the OEM) was too high and beyond the RMAF's budget… In addition, the maintenance repairs required the jets to be sent to the OEM's premises in Russia, which would have involved even higher cost and more time."

The RMAF said this forced it to seek an alternative solution. It decided to carry out the necessary maintenance works within the country, utilising existing RMAF expertise, a local maintenance repair organisation and other "local industry players".

A study conducted on one of the jets allegedly showed the maintenance works could indeed be carried out successfully in the country at lower cost, thereby reducing the country's reliance on the OEM.

"The RMAF is confident that the mandatory 10-year maintenance repairs can be done at an affordable cost for the government. Even so, studying and developing this method took time," it said, adding that in that time, 12 jets had reached the 10-year mark and are awaiting the repairs as the air force finalises its repair programme.