Leonardo positions for Malaysian light fighter programme

Leonardo is working to meet a stated requirement within the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to procure a light combat aircraft (LCA) or a fighter lead-in trainer (FLIT) as part of the service’s future modernisation plans.

A spokesperson for Leonardo told Jane’s on 5 February that the company has recently received a request for information (RFI) from Malaysia in support of the proposed procurement and that it planned to respond to the RFI soon.

Leonardo, which unveiled the M-346FA light fighter in 2017, is preparing to respond to a Malaysian RFI in support of its programme to procure a light combat aircraft. (IHS Markit/Patrick Allen)

Jane’s understands from other industry sources that the RFI is regarded as a preliminary step in the procurement and that additional RFIs are expected to be issued by Malaysia in due course before a formal request for proposal (RFP). However, the progress of this latter stage would depend on available funding.

The procurement is expected to feature an initial 12 LCA/FLIT aircraft for an estimated cost of about USD300 million, with an option for another 24 units.

Janes understands that Leonardo’s proposal to meet the LCA/FLIT requirement will be centred on its twin-engine M-346FA (Fighter Attack) aircraft, a variant of the company’s M-346 advanced jet trainer (AJT) that is currently operated by Italy, Israel, Poland, and Singapore.

The M-346FA, which retains the trainer capabilities of the M-346 AJT, was unveiled by Leonardo at the Paris Air Show 2017. According to the company the M-346FA is designed for a range of performance requirements including air-to-air combat, light attack, homeland defence, air-to-ground interception, combat search and rescue, and associated training duties.