The armed forces have scrapped plans to purchase four second-hand Black Hawk helicopters worth RM187 million, following Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim’s call to do so.
Armed forces chief Nizam Jaffar said the plans were scrapped in light of Sultan Ibrahim’s statement several days ago, in which he warned the defence ministry against putting the air force’s pilots into “flying coffins”.
“We take heed of the king’s command,” Utusan Malaysia quoted Nizam as saying.
Sultan Ibrahim had urged the defence ministry to cancel its procurement plan for the helicopters which he said would be over 30 years old.
Sultan Ibrahim, the supreme commander of the armed forces, said the ministry must not repeat its past mistakes, citing the controversial purchase of 40 second-hand A-4PTM SkyHawk aircraft in the 1980s when it initially planned to procure 88 jets.
In November, the defence ministry scrapped a RM187 million Black Hawk lease deal with Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn Bhd after the company failed to meet the October delivery deadline.
The four helicopters, meant to be leased for five years, were intended to serve as a platform for the army’s Air Team Nucleus, supporting both training and operational flight missions.
In July 2024, deputy defence minister Adly Zahari said the company had cited the ongoing war in Ukraine as one of the reasons for the delay in procuring the helicopters.
