Malaysia’s first FA-50M fighter arrives ahead of Hawk retirement

The first FA-50M light combat aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) touched down at Labuan Air Base on October 30, 2026, on a transit stop before continuing to its home base at Kuantan, Pahang.

Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin witnessed the arrival of the jet, tail number M58-01, which was escorted over the base by RMAF Hawk, F/A-18D Hornet and Su-30MKM aircraft.

It is the first of 18 FA-50M Block 20 aircraft ordered by Malaysia from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a contract valued by the manufacturer at $920 million when it first announced the deal in February 2023. Malaysian officials put the value at nearly RM4 billion.

Speaking at Labuan, Khaled announced that the second jet had been held back by a technical issue and was expected in Malaysia before November 1, 2026, according to the Asian Defence Journal, which attended the event.

RMAF prepares its first FA-50M squadron

The aircraft will be operated by No. 15 Squadron from Kuantan Air Base. According to Khaled, the squadron currently has more than 200 personnel, and 57 core personnel -comprising six pilots, six engineering officers and 45 technicians – have completed training in South Korea, Bernama, as reported by Malaysia’s national news agency.

All six pilots finished their flight training on October 21, 2026. The formal handover ceremony is scheduled for mid-November 2026 at Kuantan.

FA-50M deliveries pave the way for Hawk retirement

Khaled said that the RMAF expects to have six FA-50Ms by April 2027, with the remaining aircraft due in early 2028. In June 2026, the RMAF had suggested that deliveries would run in stages until March 2028.

The minister tied the program to the planned retirement of the RMAF’s BAE Hawk 108 and Hawk 208 fleet in 2028. KAI has said that the Malaysian variant adds aerial refueling and expanded weapons options over earlier FA-50s, and company officials have noted that it will carry RTX’s PhantomStrike active electronically scanned array radar, a feature it shares with the FA-50PL ordered by Poland.

Malaysia weighs FA-50M basing and a second order

Labuan, off the coast of Sabah on Borneo, is set to host part of the fleet, but according to Khaled, the exact number would only be settled after the Hawks retire.

“Once the Hawk aircraft are phased out in 2028, we will determine how many FA-50M aircraft will be stationed at the Labuan air base,” Khaled said.

The RMAF’s Capability Development Plan 2055 (CAP55) calls for 36 light combat aircraft, double the current order. Khaled said that it had not yet been decided whether a second batch would consist of more FA-50Ms or a different type, a choice that rests with the RMAF.

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