A deal was conclude a few months back for the purchase of 18 Su-30MKM Strike Flanker. Now...........

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LANGKAWI: The Royal Malaysian Air Force is considering buying Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter planes as part of its move to beef up the nation’s air defence capabilities.

This was revealed here yesterday by RMAF chief Jen Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad, who said the Super Hornets were far superior to the present batch of F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets based in Butterworth.

“We have a responsibility to marshal our air defence, so we are looking at the Super Hornets,” he added, saying that Super Hornet has the capability to hold 30% more ordinance than the F/A-18D.

There are two versions of the Super Hornets, the F/A-18E which is a single-seater jet and the F/A-18F (which is among the aircraft at Lima 2003) a twin-seater.

The Super Hornet is a long-range, all-weather strike fighter, fully capable of conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. Its most recent combat action was during the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

The aircraft is exclusively used by the US Navy and Marines and if Malaysia decides to buy either version of the Super Hornet, it will become the first country outside the US to have the aircraft.

Abdullah later received a courtesy call from US Navy Deputy Assistant Secretary (International Programme) Rear Admiral Mark Milliken at the RMAF suite in the Mahsuri International Exhibition Hall here.

-Star Online news
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It is surprising to learn that it will be the 'E' model and not 'F' as was reported in the past.