Defence minister Khaled Nordin stated that the helicopter lease contract would be cancelled if the vendor failed to meet this deadline.

“We are giving them until October for delivery. If the Black Hawk helicopters are not delivered by then, the contract will be cancelled,” he told reporters after the opening of My Villa at Dewan Felda Air Tawar 3 today.

Khaled said this in response to a question about the defence ministry’s actions over the delayed delivery of the helicopters.

However, he noted that the ministry has not yet formulated alternative plans if the contract for the four helicopters is cancelled.

“Any alternative plans will be made only after the cancellation,” he said.

Last month, Khaled reportedly said the defence ministry had received feedback from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) regarding the proposed cancellation of the Black Hawk helicopter lease contract for the Malaysian army.

On July 16, deputy defence minister Adly Zahari stated that Aerotree Defence and Services, the company responsible for the helicopter lease, had cited the ongoing war in Ukraine as one of the reasons for the delay in the helicopter’s procurement.

Previously, army chief Muhammad Hafizuddeain had indicated that a proposal would be submitted to the defence ministry to cancel the Aerotree Defence and Services contract if the vendor failed to meet their delivery obligations as agreed.