Russia Marketing Su-57 Stealth Fighters to Replace Malaysian Air Force Su-30MKMs
Asia-Pacific , Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft
The state intermediary agency for Russian defence exports Rosoboronexport has displayed the Su-57 fifth generation fighter at the Defense Services Asia (DSA) international armaments and military equipment exhibition in Malaysia, which is being held in Kuala Lumpur from April 20-23. It reported that the fighter is "an excellent option for the modernisation and development of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, taking into account the compatibility of a number of systems and weapons with the existing Su-30MKM fleet." This occurred less than a week after Rosoboronexport confirmed that multiple countries have now placed orders for Su-57, although not elaborating on the specific clients.
Rosoboronexport has made persistent efforts to market the Su-57 to potential Southeast Asian clients, reporting in May 2025 that the aircraft “will be of interest for both representatives of the Malaysian Royal Air Force and other Southeast Asian countries. Its basic advantage before a small group of rivals is its successful combat experience in a real armed conflict amid the enemy’s use of advanced aerial attack, ai defence and electronic warfare capabilities.” As the Singapore Air Force is expected to rapidly re-equip with F-35 fifth generation fighters from the United States beginning in near the end of the decade, Malaysian sources have widely speculated that procurement of aircraft from the same generation could be perceived as necessary.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force was the first service in Southeast Asia to procure ‘4+ generation’ fighters when it took delivery of its first Su-30MKM heavyweight fighters in 2006, which were at the time the most sophisticated combat jets Russia had ever exported. Closely based on the Su-30MKI customised to meet Indian requirements, the Su-30MKM was a radical departure from the original Su-27 and Su-30 designs, and benefitted from features first demonstrated on the Su-35 and Su-37 prototypes including fully digital cockpit displays, electronically scanned array radars, thrust vectoring engines, greater uses of composite materials and modern electronic warfare systems and beyond visual range missiles. While the Su-30MKM currently forms the backbone of the fleet, and is still considered the most capable fighter type in Southeast Asia rivalled only by Singapore’s F-15SG, its standing is expected to rapidly diminish over the next decade.
Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia have long been considered leading potential clients for the Su-57, which is the only fighter type of its generation in production outside China and the United States. With the U.S. imposing extensive conditions on clients for the F-35, and seriously limiting their autonomy using the aircraft, the fighter is not expected to be a viable option for any of these countries, much as it was not for India. Territorial disputes with China, meanwhile, are expected to also exclude Chinese fighters from consideration in Vietnam and Malaysia. Reports first emerged in mid 2017 from Vietnamese paper Dat Viet that the acquisition of 12-24 Su-57s was being planned from around 2030. Further reports to this effect emerged in early January 2019. Algeria in November 2025 became the first foreign operator of the Su-57, with a number of sources having indicated that India and Iran may have placed orders. Although Malaysia cannot be ruled out as a potential client, its sensitivity to Western political pressure makes this appear to be a less likely outcome than Vietnam placing orders.
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