Black Hawk delivery expected end of October: Armed forces chief

The Malaysian Army is expecting to receive Black Hawk helicopters before the end of this month, according to the date agreed in the second extension letter issued by the Procurement Division of the Defence Ministry.

Chief of Defence Force Mohammad Ab Rahman said if the vendor company involved still fails to make the delivery by the set date, the army will urge the Procurement Division to take firm action in line with the conditions set in the extension letter.

He explained that if the contract is cancelled, the same specification and type of helicopter, which is the Combat Utility Helicopter (UH-60A), should be replaced to meet the operational requirements of the army as well as the general staff requirements of the army’s air corps.

“The Malaysian Army adheres to the position that the acquisition of these helicopters must comply with all the details and terms outlined in the letter of acceptance, which has been agreed upon by both parties, namely the Malaysian government and Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn Bhd.

“Appropriate action will be taken for all delivery delays by the Procurement Division as the contract manager, including imposing late fines or contract termination if necessary,” he said yesterday.

In the meantime, Mohammad said there is an urgent need to replace the Super Lynx aircraft, including some obsolete Royal Malaysian Navy assets.

He said that the navy still operates some Super Lynx helicopters, whose functions are limited to surface warfare and anti-submarine torpedo launchers only.

He said the aircraft had been in operation for over 20 years and was projected to operate on a limited basis until 2026.

“The need to replace this maritime combat helicopter is critical, and now the navy is evaluating several suitable maritime combat helicopter options to replace the Super Lynx under the anti-submarine warfare helicopter acquisition programme that has been registered in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).

Meanwhile, Mohammad said some of the 53 navy ships had exceeded their optimal use age in terms of capabilities, technology, and maintenance costs as stipulated in the armed forces casting policy, which is a guideline for the management of navy asset capital equipment.

He said that currently, 34 or 63 percent of navy ships had passed the service life limit, and 28 ships out of the total number have exceeded 40 years of service age.

Mohammad said the plan to procure new helicopters for the Royal Malaysian Air Force to replace 24 Nuri helicopters will be done in phases.

According to him, the government has approved 12 units of Combat Search and Rescue helicopters with utility capabilities in the first phase through the Budget 2023 presentation.

“The procurement of new air force helicopters in the second phase has been initiated because the government has ordered the air force to follow a programme to procure helicopters for the use of ministries or government agencies on a privatised basis through the asset leasing method coordinated by the public-private cooperation unit, the Prime Minister’s Department and National Security Council,” he said.

He also said that the type of helicopter finalised through the private-public committee meeting for the air force is the Leonardo AW 149, which is capable of performing search and rescue as well as utility assignments.

“This procurement is through the screening process of the value management laboratory together with the ministries and government agencies involved. The latest status is a review of the main terms of the concession agreement for the procurement of helicopters by the asset lease method to be brought up to the cabinet meeting for further approval,” he added.

- Bernama

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