Southeast Asian Battleground

Thirty years ago, Russia secured its first major post-Soviet defense export agreement with a sale of 18 Mikoyan MiG-29N fighters to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). At the same time, the U.S. finalized a smaller sale of eight McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18D Hornets, which remain in Malaysian service. (The MiG-29N was withdrawn from service more than a decade ago.)

The U.S. and Russia have long dominated the global defense market, but Malaysia is today being courted by a new cast of defense suppliers. These firms are not just new to Malaysia. Many are recent entrants to the worldwide defense export market in general.

This new lineup of international arms exporters was visible at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) at the end of May at the Langkawi island resort off the northwest coast of Malaysia. Aggressive recruiting of new management for the event and improvements to the exhibition center were among the changes made to reinvigorate the event, which had seen a fall-off in interest compared to previous years.

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