The Royal Brunei Air Drive (RBAirF), which turned 60 in June, finds itself in a quickly altering geostrategic atmosphere, characterised by battle and instability. Brunei is unlikely to endure outright navy aggression however might face spillover results of elevated tremendous energy confrontation within the area.
Brunei’s latest protection white paper recognized main energy rivalry, regional and world conflicts, radicalization, and quickly advancing disruptive applied sciences as sources of concern. It additionally laid out a path to safe nationwide sovereignty and territorial integrity. The RBAirF is actively wanting to increase its means to take action, together with with plans to amass medium-range ground-based air protection programs and fast-jet fight plane.
At present, the RBAirF operates a small fleet of contemporary turboprop-powered fixed-wing plane and helicopters. In Could, Brunei took supply of the final two CASA (Airbus) C295W medium-airlift plane, first ordered in 2022. The plane changed older C235 plane within the No. 15 Squadron in territorial and maritime surveillance, airlift, and humanitarian help and catastrophe aid missions.
For rotary-wing tactical airlift, search and rescue, and fight air help (CAS), the RBAirF operates a fleet of 12 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters and a handful of ageing BO105 helicopters. The latter is slated to be changed by six Airbus H145M multirole helicopters.
Lastly, for fundamental flight coaching, the RBAirF flies 4 Pilatus PC-7 Mk.II turboprop plane. The plane had been put into service in 1997, which makes them among the many oldest plane in Bruneian service and in dire want for substitute.
To satisfy the air drive’s mission – “to ship responsive air energy in securing Brunei Darussalam’s territorial integrity and nationwide pursuits” – amid a altering safety atmosphere, extra succesful fight plane are additionally wanted urgently.
Because the RBAirF considers the acquisition of a squadron of fast-jet fight plane, unique tools producers (OEM) are lining as much as supply their fighters to Brunei Darussalam.
Choices just like the Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Viper supply a leap in functionality for the RBAirF and include nearer ties with the U.S. protection business and Washington D.C. Nevertheless, the F-16 or an equal will not be one of the best answer for the RBAirF because it seeks to enter fast-jet operations. Any resolution concerning the RBAirF’s future fight plane ought to transcend easy fighter comparisons and take into account the air drive’s broader necessities throughout its acknowledged roles.
Coming into fast-jet operations additionally poses new coaching calls for for the air drive. Brunei will want a revised flight coaching syllabus and trendy coaching plane to prepared its future era of pilots.
Coaching Jets
Brunei might take into account adopting the Singapore mannequin by dispatching pilots to a different nation for superior jet coaching (Section 3-4), or be part of worldwide superior navy flight coaching programs in Italy or Canada, whereas sustaining the elementary and fundamental coaching (Section 1-2) at house.
Alternatively, the RBAirF might purchase the Embraer A-29 or Textron Aviation T-6 Texan II turboprop trainers to exchange the ageing PC-7 Mk. II fleet to satisfy its personal superior coaching (Section 3) calls for.
Some air forces like Switzerland, for instance, make use of trendy turboprop plane to meet their pilot coaching wants solely (Section 2-4), enabling pilots to transition from turboprop plane on to jet fight plane.
Furthermore, each Embraer and Textron supply missionized and armed variants of their plane, which might supply Brunei an inexpensive mild fight plane functionality. The A-29 and AT-6 could be geared up with superior electro-optical and infrared search and monitor, and laser monitor sensors, gun and rocket pods, and a wide range of precision-guided munitions.
Critically, this may permit the RBAirF to satisfy a lot of its CAS, counterinsurgency (COIN), fight search and rescue, airborne ahead air controller, armed reconnaissance, helicopter escort, and border and maritime surveillance patrol missions assigned to it with higher effectivity and functionality than is feasible immediately.
Due to this fact, the 2 varieties supply substantial worth at low price. They might assist help the Bruneian floor forces and navy, and different authorities businesses, and supply main financial savings that come from upkeep, operational, and coaching synergies of working a typical platform that meets the RBAirF’s fundamental navy flight coaching necessities whereas fulfilling a lot of its decrease finish fight wants.
To successfully shield Brunei’s airspace in opposition to intruders and help in land and maritime border surveillance, fast response (i.e., Fast Response Alert or QRA) is of essence.
Neither the present turboprop plane or helicopters, nor turboprop mild fight plane, can successfully intercept fast-moving and high-flying intruders close to Bruneian sovereign airspace or above the unique financial zone. Due to this fact, the RBAirF requirement for quick jet fight plane is comprehensible.
Multirole Gentle Fight Plane
To satisfy the requirement, Brunei ought to take into account buying trendy multirole jet-trainer plane and their mild fight plane variants, which might additionally fulfill the vast majority of the air drive’s border safety and fight necessities.
Good candidates to fill this function embody, for instance, the Leonardo M346F Block 20 and the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) TA/FA-50 Block 70 superior jet coach and lightweight fight plane from Italy and South Korea respectively. Just like the beforehand mentioned turboprop choices, Leonardo and KAI plane supply many synergies like in upkeep, coaching, and operations.
The M346F Block 20 is a missionized superior jet coach, which is supplied with a contemporary lively electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, superior cockpit with large-area show, and a helmet-mounted sight, datalink, focusing on pod, short- and medium-range air-to-air missiles and a variety of precision-guided air-to-ground and antiship weapons.
Equally, the most recent FA-50 variations, such because the FA-50M and FA-50 Block 70 destined for Malaysia and the Philippines respectively, are fitted with an AESA radar, a focusing on pod, a datalink, and a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.
Critically, the AESA radar, focusing on pod, datalink, and the flexibility to hold each within-visual-range and beyond-visual-range missiles, allow the plane to take up the important QRA and fight air patrol duties and reply to any airspace violations with drive, if wanted.
The FA-50 holds an necessary benefit over the M346 on this regard. It may possibly use its afterburning F404 powerplant to speed up to a supersonic velocity and attain the farthest reaches of Brunei’s EEZ sooner than what is feasible with the subsonic Italian plane.
Moreover their mild fight plane attributes, each varieties had been initially designed as superior jet trainers to satisfy the frequent Section 3 coaching necessities. The addition of a radar, fire-control pc and related information bus, hardpoints, and weapons have enabled using the plane in lead-in fighter coaching (Section 4) as effectively.
As well as, each plane are geared up with large-area shows, helmet-mounted sights, and Digital, Reside, and Constructive (VLC) coaching aids, which promise to remodel jet coaching within the coming years. The usage of VLC permits air forces to attain many beforehand tough to useful resource coaching, resembling large-force operations or weapons deployment at a considerably decrease price.
For instance, VLC can emulate a fire-control radar and simulate a beyond-visual-range missile engagement with all related goal and missile-launch symbology and cues projected on the shows and the helmet. Air forces can dispatch a pair of plane into air (“stay”) whereas different trainees could be part of the identical mission in simulators (“digital”), whereas going through digital enemy plane (“constructive”) – all linked to the identical VLC atmosphere.
Furthermore, as a result of fast technological change and observations drawn from conflicts world wide, one-way assault drones (OWAD) have turn into a distinguished aerial menace that requires options from air forces and the business.
Understanding this demand, OEMs like Embraer, Textron, and Leonardo market their plane as cost-effective counter-OWAD platforms, geared up with AESA radar and/or focusing on pods, datalink, gun pods, short-range air-to-air missiles, and semi-active laser-guided rockets to handle the menace.
Due to this fact, mild fight plane supply the RBAirF a cheap answer to face up fast-jet operations from zero.
Classes From Brunei’s Neighbors
A very good level of reference is the Philippine Air Drive (PAF), which made a return to quick jets with the FA-50PH between 2015 and 2017, after a ten-year pause in working fighter plane. The PAF took supply of 12 plane and signed a follow-on order in 2025 consisting of 12 FA-50 Block 70 plane.
Over the past decade, the PAF has made nice strides in coaching and reacquiring the abilities wanted to function quick jets. Immediately, Manila isn’t just seeking to increase the favored FA-50 fleet but in addition to purchase a higher-end multirole fight plane.
The Philippine instance exhibits that it will possibly take a decade or extra to develop required operational proficiency and human sources, and capability to function quick jets.
The KAI plane has turn into a well-liked kind in Southeast Asia and is operated by 4 air forces, together with the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Compared, the M346 stays a much less well-known kind within the area, though it’s utilized by Singapore for fundamental jet coaching, with its complete fleet based mostly in France as a result of coaching space constraints within the island state.
As well as, Indonesia not too long ago positioned an order for a complete of 48 M346F Block 20 plane, which is able to rework the Indonesian Air Drive’s flight coaching and assist change ageing BAE Hawk plane in each jet coaching and lightweight fight duties.
Trendy coach plane, which additionally are available in mild fight plane variations and are geared up with trendy sensors, datalinks, air-to-air missiles, and precision-guided munitions supply important price advantages and coaching, operational, and upkeep synergies for small air forces.
For the RBAirF, these plane supply probably the most cost-effective pathway to fast-jet air energy. One should not run earlier than studying to stroll.