Introduction
The Malaysian Defence Policy was developed against the Cold War backdrop. The world then was divided by the iron and bamboo curtain, with Malaysia firmly entrenched with the West to fight the communists. A lot of knowledge was imparted by the West and NATO to the Malaysian Armed Forces, helping Malaysia to hone her fighting skills to fight against the communist insurgency in Counter Insurgency Warfare. After the communists surrender in 1989 & 1990 both in West and East Malaysia, the focus was shifted to transform Malaysia’s military into a conventional fighting force. We were very excited at that time to witness the transformation of the Malaysian Armed Forces from an armed forces that excels in Counter Insurgency Warfare into a force that is capable of conducting a full spectrum of Conventional Warfare. The Army, Navy and Air Forces are being transformed to enable us to build up the capabilities, to fight conventionally in the required theatre of operations. On paper this looks good, however the execution and re-equipment of Malaysia’s Armed Forces to transform her into a credible fighting force, leaves a lot to be desired.
Malaysia’s Armed Forces, need state of the art weapon systems in numbers to enable us to have a wide safety net in order to protect the country. The defensive lines that we have require us to have adequate number of aircraft and ships, to provide an effective protection level. Simply put, the larger number of aircraft and ships that we have, the further the defensive line from our territory can be created and defended. This can prevent casualties among the civilians, economic infrastructure and centre of population in the country in the event of war. Israel has this policy of ensuring that “The security of Israel is in the skies over Cairo”. Ir Soekarno, the Indonesian President from 1945-1967, stated that “Kekuatan udara untuk menentukan kelangsungan sesebuah negara, adalah vital”. True enough during that period, Indonesia was the strongest country in the southern hemisphere, notably with the strongest Air Force and Navy in the southern hemisphere, equipped with the state-of-the-art weapon systems. Enough to give a bloody nose to anyone who tried to encroach into her territory (defensive lines) from Sabang to Merauke.
Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)
The Royal Malaysian Air Force, under our force modernization plan in the 90s, were equipped with a plethora of aircraft from multiple countries which can be a logistical nightmare. Aircraft from the USA, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Indonesia made up RMAF’s inventory. There were many squadrons equipped with aircraft in very few numbers from many countries. This is very different from Singapore. Singapore slowly shifted to the USA after retiring their Hawker Hunter Combat Aircraft. The Republic of Singapore Air Force adopted US made combat aircraft in very large numbers starting from the Skyhawk, F5E Tiger II, F16, F15 and the current logical progression to the F35. The current CAP 55 force modernisation and inventory rationalisation plan, will put things on the right track for the RMAF. However, it takes a very long time to materialize and the number of 2 MRCA squadrons planned, are too few to defend our territories.
The RMAF has a track record of not increasing the number of combat aircrafts in our inventory in the past, such as the F5E, Mig 29N, FA 18D, MB339 etc. The numbers that we have are always too few and are allowed to wither and die over time. Incomplete upgrades should not be repeated. In the past, upgrades were carried out on the MB 339, but the engine was not upgraded accordingly creating a subpar aerial platform. Needless to mention, the purchase of our A4 PTM Skyhawks was a fiasco. Plans to obtain additional UH 60 Blackhawks from Brunei did not materialize. By the look of it, plans to obtain the Kuwaiti Hornets are also in jeopardy. Bilateral arrangements between Malaysia and the West and also between Malaysia and the GCC countries should be mended. It is sad to see these strategic bilateral ties established by the BN government being dismantled by the short-sighted PH government. All endeavour should be concentrated to salve these bilateral arrangements. This can enable us to secure legacy FA18 Hornets from Kuwait and UH60 Blackhawks from Brunei. Saudi Arabia in the past has also offered us surplus military assets comprising of land, air and sea assets. It is in our best interest to revisit and mend our ties with these strategic allies of ours to strengthen our military. Other aircraft types that should also be in the works for the RMAF are AEW and MRTT aircrafts, besides fixed winged and rotary winged transport aircrafts. The number of RMAF’s Airbus A 400 transport aircrafts should be increased, and so does the number of our C 130H aircrafts. The current procurement of LCAs and MRCAs should contain elements of Lateral Thinking and Out of The Box Thinking process.
For example, instead of 3x FA50 squadrons and 2x FA 18E/F/G squadrons, we can also procure one squadron Boeing/Saab T7 Red Hawk Armed Trainers for LIFT, COIN and BAI roles (an armed version of this aircraft has already been developed), two squadrons of the Saab Gripen E/F and two squadrons of the FA 18E/F/G.- All of these aircraft are using the GE-404-103 engines. Besides, there are a lot of commonalities between Boeing and Saab. There will be more bang for the buck with the deployment of one sqn of the T7 Red Hawks, two sqn of the Gripens E and F and two sqn of the Super Hornets E/F/G. This compared to the weaker combination of the planned two or three FA 50 LCA squadrons and two FA18 E/F/G squadrons.
Army
As for the Malaysian Army, they should no longer be inward looking. Capability should be upgraded to enable the army to hit targets at long distances, and this long-range weapon systems should be in large enough quantity to enable us to effectively defend our outermost defence line. The first priority should be to increase the number of our MRLS of 300mm calibre with capabilities to fire Tactical Cruise Missiles and to increase and upgrade the number of our 155mm 39 calibre and 45 calibre towed howitzers to that of 52 calibre. Immediate procurement of 155mm 52 calibre Self Propelled Howitzers (SPH), in large quantities should also be made in order to increase the mobility, range and firepower of our 155mm howitzer systems. The Malaysian Army should already retire the 105mm Howitzers and replace them with SPHs of 155mm 52 calibre.
Our 155mm 52 calibre howitzer should also be able to fire Precision Guided Munitions ie the Excalibur and Bonus. Heavy self-propelled mortars of 120mm and 81mm calibre must also be increased in line with the efforts to increase firepower and mobility.
Efforts should have already been made by the Malaysian Army, Navy and Air Force, to induct MRAD and LRAD missiles for air defence. This air defence system should be an integrated one, in order to create an impenetrable and Fully Integrated Air Defence Network. Due to the MH 17 Tragedy, it is understandable that Malaysia is no longer keen to buy weapon systems from Russia. However, their Club K Anti-Ship Missile System can be considered for deployment on our outermost islands and on the shores of the Malay Peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak as part of our Coastal Artillery guided weapon systems.
The Army needs Heavy and Medium lift helicopters to enhance their tactical transport and strategic lift capability. Combined Arms operations should be fully embraced. Besides long range SPH Howitzers and MRLS, the number of our Armoured Vehicles with heavy firepower and Main Battle Tanks (MBT), should be increased in order to improve our firepower and mobility. The army should also be equipped liberally with Anti-Tank Guided Weapons to combat enemy armour. It is now the right time to introduce helicopter gunships, to the Malaysian Army, in order to increase the tempo of our combined armed operations. Our neighbours, especially The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia etc, have all deployed helicopter gunships in their arsenal, making their strike force even deadlier. With regards to the use of UAVs in modern warfare, the Malaysian Armed Forces must learn from the recent Armenia – Azerbaijan conflict, on the use of drones in modern warfare. The armed forces should start studying on the deployment of HALE and MALE UAVs in modern combat. This can be a game changer for the Malaysian Armed Forces and the region.
A gentle reminder that the underlying aspect of weapon systems procurement, for the army like that of the air force, should be focusing on commonality and simplification of logistics. For example, all armoured vehicles and MBTs should ideally be from Turkey. There should have been a minimum of 5 MBT regiments by now but we are still stuck with one MBT regiment in our inventory. All weapon replacements to be made for the army, must be properly think through. We have committed a blunder by replacing the very capable Steyr AUG, with the inferior Colt M4 Rifle that is less accurate and more prone to jamming. Australia meanwhile has upgraded her Steyr Aug Assault rifle to the F90. The FH 70 155mm 39 calibre howitzers, had to be retired only a short while after being inducted into service.
Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN)
The Royal Malaysian Navy is currently embarking on its 15 to 5 fleet rationalisation programmes. This initiative will see the RMN, being transformed into a more effective and efficient fighting force with just 5 types of vessels from the current 15. This leads to ease of maintenance and improves the integrated logistics systems. However there have been glitches during the construction our NGPV, LCS and Training Ships.
The first hiccup occurs during the construction of the 6 NGPVs. PSC-ND failed to deliver the ships on time before having to be rescued by BHIC-ND. The ships were not constructed up to full specifications which leads to the disappointment of many in the country. It was designated to be under the Fitted For But Not With (FFBNW) concept, being armed with only a 76mm main gun. This renders the NGPVs to be unable to meet even the 1982 Falklands War threat level. It has no capable anti air weapons – SAMs, anti-ship missiles – SSMs and Torpedoes. The price paid for these basic ships are exorbitant despite its limited capability. Even though the NGPV has been in service for quite some time, no effort whatsoever have been made to upgrade her to become a full spec corvette or frigate. If only we have equipped her with brand new Torpedoes, Exocet or Kongsberg missiles and Sea Ram missiles, we could have immediately gotten ourselves six very highly capable capital ships instead of overly glorified gunboats.
After that there were hiccups involving NGVTech and the two navy training ships constructed in her shipyard. The ships could not be delivered on time with cost overruns, and the ships were repossessed by the bank.
The current LCS programme being undertaken by BHIC-ND, is also going the same way. None of the ships have been delivered so far with massive cost overruns. Even then, the torpedoes to be fitted onboard the LCS are recycled ones and not brand new. The programme status is now uncertain as there are no indications yet on when the first ship can be delivered, and whether all six ships planned can be delivered, armed to the teeth.
Our FS1500 frigates went for refurbishment for quite a while with nothing to show. At the very least they could have been equipped with SAMs like the Sea Ram, to equip these ships with a more credible air defence system. Unfortunately, this is not to be the case.
Submarines are critical for the defence of Malaysia’s forward areas. It is time that the RMN plans for the induction of more submarines in the inventory. The two submarines are overworked in their current role and their numbers need to be increased.
The first two LMS that have been bought from China is a major disappointment are both were armed only with guns of 30mm. Vessels armed only with guns are suitable only for deployment by the coast guard, and our LMS at the very least should be modular, in which missile armaments can be included. The current upgrade on the communication and electronics systems may suggest the inferior quality of these made in China equipment. The practice of arming our LCA, NGPVs and LMS with only main guns must be stopped. The Navy’s role to defend the country right up to the extended and forward areas requires all surface combatants to be equipped up to full specifications of the highest standard with SSMs, SAMs and Torpedoes. This will enable the surface combatants, to conduct four-dimensional warfare (land, air, sea and underwater) effectively.
The role of the RMN is not merely to project law and order beyond a certain distance from Malaysian shores. Please leave that role to the coast guard. The RMN requires assets that have full warfighting capabilities. The idea that the RMN can operate surface combatants armed with only main guns is a flawed one. And in the future, there should be no more ships in the FFBNW configuration. All ships currently in this state should be upgraded to become a full specification combat asset, armed to the teeth will full missile armaments capable of fighting in four dimensions.
To support the fleet, Army and Airforce including during MOOTW, United Nations and HADR operations, procurement of MRSS must be hastened.
The Navy has allowed the Lerici Class minehunters, Combattante FACMs, SPICA-M FACMs and the Laksamana class corvettes to become obsolete for a very long time without replacements. This is just like the predicament of the RMAF, who has lost the services of the F 5E and Mig 29N for a very long time without replacement at the peril of our nation’s defence. Simply put, the authorities and people in charge have failed miserably big time.
The Philippines Navy has showed us the way by procuring missile armed Fast Interceptor Crafts.
To sum up the situation, I would like to share a conversation that I have, with a serving RMN officer. He told me this,
“When I joined the Navy, we had 16 missile firing ships. Now we are left with only four”.
Thank god, we still can add the Scorpenes, capable of firing the SM 39!
Lesson Learnt
We must not turn our backs on offers for surplus defence articles from the world powers that be. This will provide less opportunity for unscrupulous people and profiteers, to throw spanner in the works during Malaysia’s military modernization and procurements.
In short, what I am trying to say is that we have failed to create a credible armed force, to defend the country.
[Photo credit: New Straits Times]
