By Dawn Chan

KLANG: The time has come for the Royal Malaysian Airforce (RMAF) to replace its fleet of ageing Russian Su (Sukhoi Su-30MKM) and MiG fighter planes with newer models.

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said discussions and studies are currently being carried out to assess the feasibility of procuring new aircraft from Russia.

“However, we must also look at our financial (situation before making the) replacements. Our current ones are indeed ageing and need to be replaced.

“But we need to look at what needs to be replaced, and this will all depend on our discussions,” he said.

The Kota Raja MP said this after flagging off Soka Gakkai’s Run For Peace 2019 at the Klang Jaya field here, today.

According to Bernama, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said that Malaysia is studying Russia’s offer to take back the previously-delivered MiG fighters and replace them with new MiG-35s.

He said that while the jets are old and may not be performing at their best level, money is a great concern in discussions on acquiring replacements.

Dr Mahathir said spending money on expensive fighter planes is unproductive, as Malaysia is not at war with anyone.

He added that the country does not spend too much on defence, but will seriously consider Russia’s offer in order to ensure that the nation’s defence forces are operating at a high level.