Malaysia badly needs to upgrade its fleet of MiG-29s, where Saab Gripen is now looking like a prospect, as the drop in oil prices is putting new pressure on the oil-producing country.
When Malaysia requested information, in the form of preliminary proposals in 2011, the Southeast-Asian country wanted two engines.
Now, Saab says it believes this is not set in stone, and expects Malaysia to adopt the increasingly common practice of specifying a required capability, measured as annual available flight time, rather than a certain number of aircraft. The Swedish firm thinks 16 Gripen C/Ds could provide the flight time that will probably be required.
Malaysia adopts the common practice of five-year government planning periods, so the industry expects the order to appear in the next one, covering 2016-20.
Read full story: Malaysia Expected To Order Fighters In 2016-20
