Aircraft
LIMA Show Reveals Malaysian Indecision Over Military Needs
Various requirements for new fighters and helicopters remain unfulfilled, with only A400M airlifters delivered.
One of No. 18 Squadron’s F/A-18D Hornets in the static park at LIMA, displaying markings to indicate 20 years of service. (Photo: Chen Chuanren)
One of No. 18 Squadron’s F/A-18D Hornets in the static park at LIMA, displaying markings to indicate 20 years of service. (Photo: Chen Chuanren)

The 2017 Langkawi International Marine and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) attracted 555 exhibiting companies and more than 40,000 trade visitors and witnessed deal signings worth a reported RM3.8 billion ($860 million). This enabled Malaysian defense minister Hishammudin Hussein to declare the show “a big success.” But there was no disguising the fact that most of the signing ceremonies during LIMA were small-scale, and that none of Malaysia’s supposed requirements for new military aircraft were firmed up.