Its deputy minister Adly Zahari said the jets worth a total of RM4.08 billion suit the current needs of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) compared with those offered by other countries such as India (Tejas), Pakistan (JF-17), Russia (MIG-35), and Turkey (Hurizet), Utusan Malaysia reported.

He added that the decision to procure the FA-50 jets, which will be delivered from 2026 onwards, was made based on the defence white paper and national defence policy.

“On Friday, we signed a memorandum of agreement on the purchase of 18 FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea. The earliest delivery of these jets will be in 2026.

“The defence ministry is committed, and the defence minister himself (Mohamad Hasan) has constantly reminded us that the procurement processes are done based on the needs of the end user. All factors were considered before we decided”, he told reporters during the launch of the Alor Gajah parliamentary service centre in Melaka.

Adly said the most important factor is that the country’s defence is well-taken care of, its sovereignty safeguarded, and the delivery will be according to the timeline, Utusan Malaysia quoted him as saying.

Two days ago, Yonhap news agency reported that KAI, South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer secured a 1.2 trillion won (RM4.08bil) contract to sell the fighter jets to Malaysia.

This is the fourth aircraft deal KAI has signed with a Southeast Asian country after Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.