PETALING JAYA: The much-delayed six MD530G light scout/attack helicopters for the Army have finally been delivered.
Army chief General Tan Sri Zamrose Mohd Zain said their arrival boosted the agency's readiness and capability.
"The helicopters will be able to attack and destroy light armoured vehicles and enemies at a range of 500 metres to seven kilometres, other than having the agility to perform air reconnaissance.
"Three of the helicopters will be stationed in the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), along with three Agusta Westland helicopters, and the rest at Mahkota camp in Kluang, Johor," he said.
Zamrose added that before being allowed to operate, the helicopters would undergo several inspections by the Directorate General Technical Airworthiness unit and a Final Acceptance Test (FAT) team," he said after taking delivery of the helicopters at the Invation Aero hangar.
Each of the helicopters would be equipped with 7.62 millimetres (mm) Gatling gun, 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and 70 mm rockets.
Zamrose said once the helicopters were deemed air-worthy, a Final Inspection Certificate was expected to be issued in April by the representatives of the delivery company and the FAT team.
"This will officially indicate that the six helicopters are owned by the Army and we expect them to become operational very soon," he said.
The MD530G helicopters were supplied by Syarikat Halaman Optima Sdn Bhd through Syarikat Destini Prima Sdn Bhd. They are manufactured by MD Helicopter Inc, based in the United States.
The helicopters were shipped to Port Klang on Feb 21, after a 31-day journey from Oakland Harbour, United States.
"The procurement contract also included training programmes for eight pilots and nine technicians with the Army Aviation Wing at Mesa, Arizona, in the US for 43 days from April 26 last year.
"It followed up with a pre-delivery inspection on Dec 6-17 last year," said Zamrose.
On doubts cast by certain quarters on the capability of the helicopters, Zamrose said they suited their functions and the topography in their areas of operation.
"The main duty of the helicopters is to perform scout surveillance and will only attack if threatened," he said.
The MD530G, dubbed "Little Birds", were initially procured for RM300 million in Nov 2015 from MD Helicopters Inc of United States aerospace giant McDonnell Douglas Corp.
The terms of the contract stipulate that the helicopters are slated to be delivered in two batches – the first two by July 2017, with the other four scheduled to arrive by Dec 2018.
The MD530G will replace the four Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri which have been grounded with the Army Aviation Wing.
This followed the decision last month by the Royal Malaysian Air Force to phase out its entire fleet of 38 Nuris, after five decades of service, owing to exorbitant maintenance costs.
The Nuri helicopters were grounded following a near-fatal crash at the Gubir army camp in Kedah on Aug 2 last year.
More than 80 personnel were reportedly killed in more than 20 crashes since the Nuris were first introduced in 1967.