Shift in military alliances: Malaysia opts for South Korean jets over Russian models
The war in Ukraine has made Russia, whose economy is suffering due to various sanctions, an unreliable partner in terms of armament supply. Some countries that had previously shown interest in purchasing Russian weapons are now retracting their interest or considering alternatives. One of the beneficiaries of this shift is South Korea.
Malaysia has decided to retire its Russian planes – specifically, 13 MiG-29s in so-called "active reserve" and 18 units of Su-30. Just a few years ago, Malaysia was integrating Russian aircraft with Western weapons but has ultimately decided to abandon this equipment.
This decision stems from issues with servicing and repairing the Russian Su-30s. Due to Russia's inability to provide Malaysia with the necessary level of military aircraft service, Kuala Lumpur has had to look for alternatives.
See also: Is it NATO or Russian equipment?
The answer was to place an order in South Korea for 18 FA-50 planes. However, that's not the end of the cooperation with Seoul. Korea, after pausing the program for a few years due to the success and interest in the FA-50 aircraft, has resumed work on the F-50 aircraft.
F-50 - the combat version of the FA-50
The F-50, a yet-to-be-developed, single-seat, combat variant of the FA-50 aircraft, is not hindered by constraints typical for designs intended for training.
The FA-50, ordered by several countries including Poland, is a training-and-combat aircraft based on the T-50 training aircraft, which was designed with a cockpit accommodating both a student and an instructor. This necessity imposes certain limitations, such as the construction of the aircraft in only a 2-seater variant.
While it can be piloted by one person, the large cockpit occupies valuable space that could be used for a larger fuel tank or more avionics equipment.
Therefore, Korea, alongside developing the FA-50, aims to continue the work on its combat version, labelled the F-50. Potential users of this model include current FA-50 clients, such as Malaysia.
