Malaysia scraps plan to buy Black Hawk helicopters derided by its King as ‘flying coffins’

Malaysia has scrapped its plan to purchase four ageing Black Hawk helicopters after its King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, alluded to them as “flying coffins”, according to media reports.

The Malaysian Armed Forces’ chief, General Mohd Nizam Jaffar, said it was the King’s strongly worded take on the issue – delivered on the 60th anniversary of Malaysia’s Special Service Regiment on Aug 16 – that tilted the balance.

“We will not propose (the procurement of) Black Hawk and have taken heed of His Majesty’s concerns,” he was quoted as saying in a report that first appeared in Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia on Aug 19.

According to previous reports, Malaysia signed a deal in May 2023 to lease four Sikorsky UH-60A+ Black Hawk helicopters from local supplier Aerotree Defence and Services for RM187 million (S$57 million) over five years.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Defence issued a notice to cancel the order in November 2024, after Aerotree failed to deliver the first helicopter as agreed in October 2024, according to media reports.

The ministry, however, later issued a new contract – published in August 2025 – that supposedly included the helicopters, Malaysian news outlet Malay Mail reported.

In a stern admonition on Aug 16, Sultan Ibrahim said the Ministry of Defence should scrap its plan to acquire Black Hawk helicopters that were more than 30 years old.

He said the ministry should not repeat past mistakes, citing Malaysia’s purchase of dozens of A-4 Skyhawk ground-attack aircraft in 1982 for US$1 million each.

Out of 88 of those Vietnam War-era warplanes that were acquired, only 40 were refurbished and put into service. 

State news agency Bernama reported that the jets were later retired due to a high accident rate.

Sultan Ibrahim said on Aug 16 of the Black Hawk helicopters: “Are we going to put our pilots in ‘flying coffins’?”

He said that purchasing snafus happen “because the Defence Ministry is full of agents or former generals who have become salesmen”.

“We even have textile firms wanting to sell us drones,” he said.

Sultan Ibrahim said the Ministry of Defence should not “waste time purchasing nonsense that does not fit the military’s needs”, and that there is a need to review its procurement process, “in terms of pricing”.

“Several steps must be taken before determining the best acquisition method and expediting the process,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

The Malaysian King said those deciding on military acquisitions must be transparent and should not rely solely on agents and middlemen.