Earlier this week, the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) decided to cancel the purchase of four old UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters from the U.S., a deal valued at around RM 187 million (approximately USD 44 million). The decision comes just days after the country’s monarch, Sultan Ibrahim ibni Iskandar, publicly voiced strong criticism over the safety of the platforms, even calling them “flying coffins” due to their age of more than three decades.
The decision was publicly confirmed by the Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces, General Tan Sri Mohd Nizam Jaffar, who also stated that the country has already launched a new tender process for the acquisition. Quoting some of his remarks: “The MAF will always respect and comply with the decree of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim regarding the purchase of old Black Hawk helicopters, most of which are more than 30 years old. We will not pursue Black Hawks at all, and we have taken note of His Majesty’s wishes. The tender for the purchase has already been issued.”
It should be recalled that the Malaysian monarch has the authority to issue such decrees since he also serves as Supreme Commander of the country’s Armed Forces. Previously, he had urged the Ministry of Defence not to repeat the same procurement mistakes of the past, making sharp comments against ministry officials whom he accused of inflating prices in their role as middlemen and attempting to mislead him during the process.
Among his statements, the Sultan said: “I believe all this happens because the Ministry of Defence is full of agents or ex-generals who have turned into salesmen (…) If we have to follow the inflated intermediary price in every purchase, the current allocation will not be enough. So don’t try to fool me. If you don’t want to listen to me, I will not reprimand you anymore after this.” These words were delivered during the parade for the 60th anniversary of the Rejimen Gerak Khas.
Beyond this stance, it is also important to highlight that the UH-60A helicopter acquisition process had already faced problems in the Asian country, reinforcing the monarch’s position. In this regard, it should be noted that the originally negotiated leasing contract had even been subject to cancellation notices in 2024, when it was argued that the supplier failed to meet the delivery deadlines. Following this, a new procurement process was launched with the same budgeted funds, which—according to local reports—was again expected to include the U.S.-origin helicopters, but these will now be definitively removed from consideration.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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