Malaysia’s Air Force Receives Upgraded Sikorsky S61A-4 Helicopter

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) received an upgrade helicopter during a ceremony held at ongoing LIMA 2017 show today.

The Sikorsky S61A-4 aircraft, which is the first in the RMAF’s fleet of Nuri to have its avionics system upgraded from analogue to digital, was handed over by Airod Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Major General (Rtd) Datuk Ibrahim Bahari to RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Affendi Buang, in a ceremony witnessed by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Bernama News agency reported Thursday. 

Ibrahim said the upgrade, which was carried out at Airod's facility in Subang, Selangor, involved a technology transfer of an avionics system from its Norway technical partner, Heli-One. The upgraded helicopter is equipped with new digital map and flight instrument, which improves its operational capabilities as well as flight safety. 

"The upgrade makes this Nuri helicopter at par with modern aircraft. It is also easier and more cost efficient to maintain, compared to when it was using the old analogue system," he said after the ceremony. 

He added the Armed Forces are going to test the Nuri first, and should they be satisfied with the new system's performance, Airod will start upgrading works on 26 other Nuri in the military's fleet.