Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) won a $920 million (1.2 trillion won) bid to export 18 FA-50 light attack aircraft to Malaysia. Delivery of the fighter jets is set to begin in 2026. Malaysia is the fourth Southeast Asian country to import FA-50 fighter jets. The first three are Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. KAI expects to win a deal to provide an additional 18 FA-50 jets to Malaysia as the country plans to strengthen its air force.

KAI signed the deal with Malaysia’s defense ministry to export its fighter jets, beating India’s Tejas, Pakistan’s JF-17, Russia’s MIG-35 and Turkey’s Hurizet. 

Why It Matters

KAI will use its success in winning the bid to export its fighter jets to Malaysia as a springboard to sell the aircraft to other markets, as the deal will boost its overall export potential. KAI’s closest competitor was India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). To convince Kuala Lumpur to consider purchasing the Tejas fighter jet, India offered to set up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Malaysia for the aircraft it previously purchased from Russia.

Malaysia retired its 16 MiG-29 fighters in 2017 due to inadequate funding for sustainment and still fields 18 Su-30 fighters. However, Malaysia has faced difficulty in obtaining spare parts for its Russian aircraft due to Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.