India’s light combat aircraft, Tejas, has emerged as the top choice for Malaysia as the Southeast Asian nation looks at replacing its ageing fleet of fighter jets and the two sides are holding negotiations to take forward the procurement process.
Malaysia has narrowed down on the Indian aircraft notwithstanding stiff competition from China’s JF-17 jet, South Korea’s FA-50 and Russia’s Mig-35 as well as the Yak-130 plane, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), R. Madhavan, told PTI in an interview.
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 as it is facing difficulties in procuring spares for the aircraft from Russia in view of Western sanctions against Moscow.
