The guy in 0.12 must've screamed ''f*** YOUUUUUUU!" before exploding into thin air.

i think his shoulder is injure... he cover it all the time after the explosion…

I usually embrace all ideas , but this one is definitely worth shooting down !  A "defence writer" who does not even bother to get his facts right ? MAS has received 4 of their new 738 and a further dry lease of 5 b738 (no sky interior) as of August 2011. 2 A330's have been delivered since March (9M-MTA , MTB)  not none as the writer stated.

If he can't even be bothered to find out basic and much touted facts (in Khazanah's bulletin, MAS Going Places, NST , The Star, Maybank Finanicals, etc etc ) how dare he even try and estimate the amount it would cost to convert these planes into AWACS ? And what's with taking MH's planes ?? Why not AirAsia's ?

MH does not have too many planes . It's AirAsia with their multi billion dollar order of 200++ A320's that will face this problem as their delivery dates get nearer and nearer. I speculate that Tony bought these planes now ala Ryanair with their B738 order, when he can afford them (or seems to anyway) jamming up the order list and forcing other airlines to lease these planes to them with a good margin.

The MAS BBJ was given to the Federal Gov as a cost saving measure (MAS didn't have to pay and Khazanah got a gigantic tax relief) , and also because no one but our Sultans could have used it anyway. I remember an article where if you are not royalty, you will have to take off your shoes upon entering ... And this plane , DiRaja 1 did not have to go through any modification since it was already a VVIP transport .. so no $$ wasted. 

Why does the writer not cite Singapore as an example instead ? They are using 2 converted Fokker 50 for maritime patrols and it seems to be doing them well. But since their maintenance is getting more and more expensive let's not take that route. There are 5 of Berjaya's Q-400 STOL just waiting for buyers, Transmile MD11, B732 and B722 also sitting around Subang doing nothing. If TUDM had really wanted a AWACS badly I'm sure these aircraft would have been worthy for the task.

A more realistic scenario is that TUDM does not actually need an AWACS. What would it do in peacetime anyway ? IMHO they are going the route of drones or aircraft big enough just to monitor a small hotspot, eg: human traffickers (land /sea), pirates, SAR etc. So a Gulfstream would be more than adequate

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUU our SU with armament, lucky pilot got to fly

FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP