Its deputy minister, Adly Zahari, said Aerotree Defence & Services, the company tasked with delivering the helicopters, informed him that the ongoing Ukraine war and tightened US regulatory approval for avionics integration had contributed to the delay.

“The timeline for the expected delivery of the aircraft to Malaysia has been adjusted by the Slovak Training Academy and all those involved. This is based on the latest supply chain conditions and the expected time of approval by the US regulator,” he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.

Adly was responding in the Dewan Rakyat to Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah) regarding the reason for the failure by Aerotree Defence & Services to supply the UH-604A to the Malaysian armed forces within the stipulated time.

The company was to have delivered two helicopters on Oct 30, 2023 and another two on Dec 30, 2023.

Adly also said the ministry viewed the delay seriously as it could affect the operations of the armed forces.

“If there are delays, the government will take steps, through this contract, to impose a late fine,” he said, adding that Putrajaya had the option to even cancel the procurement and re-tender it.

In response to Ikmal’s supplementary question about resorting to government-to-government procurements to obtain the helicopters, Adly said such cooperation hinged on whether the companies involved were state-owned.