HAL to open office in Malaysia

HAL had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Malaysia, in October 2021 for the supply of 18 FLIT LCAs against a global tender issued by RMAF

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Thursday announced opening up an office in Kualalumpur in what may be an indication of India inching closer to securing its first export order to sell the homegrown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to Malaysia.

"The office in Malaysia will help HAL in tapping the new business opportunities for Fighter Lead-in Trainer LCA and other requirements of Royal Malaysian Air Force like Su-30 MKM and Hawk upgrades,” HAL said in a statement after signing a memorandum of understanding with Malaysian authorities.

In October 2021, HAL submitted a proposal to Malaysia’s Ministry of Defence to supply 18 Tejas LCA responding to a global tender that the Royal Malaysian Air Force had floated.

“The final winner of the tender is expected to be declared soon by Malaysian authorities. LCA Tejas stands a fair chance of selection in the bid as it meets all the parameters sought by RMAF,” HAL said.

Ajay Bhatt, the minister of state for defence informed the Parliament earlier this month that Argentina, Australia, Egypt, USA, Indonesia and Philippines too evinced interest in the indigenous combat jet.

India spent 38 years and thousands of crores in developing the Light Combat Aircraft from scratch. Last year, the Defence Ministry approved a Rs 48,000 crore deal to procure 83 advanced versions of the LCA Tejas after satisfactory performance of the first two batches.

Bengaluru-based aviation major is also pitching for a maintenance contract to service the RMAF’s Su-30 MKM fleet, which is experiencing problems in servicing the Russian aircraft due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Being one of the largest producers of Russian origin Su-30 aircraft, HAL has capabilities to extend the required support to RMAF for Su-30 MKM fleet which is facing low serviceability issues due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis,” the company said. Moreover, it can extend support to upgrade the Malaysia Hawk fleet as well.

The HAL announcement comes at a time when military relations between India and Malaysia are on an upswing.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar on Thursday met Dato Sri Muez Abd Aziz, Secretary General in the Ministry of Defence, Malaysia and discussed greater defence cooperation between the two countries including the defence ministry.

Malaysian Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Bin Mohd Sany met Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Harikumar and National Maritime Security Coordinator Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar to discuss maritime issues. The two air forces had a military drill (Ex Udarashakti) last week at the RMAF base at Kuantan.