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  Lima 2019
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Text:

Chakrit Samithinan

Pictures:

Chakrit Samithinan & Saichol Krai-amat

   

The 15th edition of the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) took place from 26th to 30th March 2019 at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Center which is situated right next to the Langkawi International Airport. The 2019 event was presided over by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad who is the same man who, in 1991, during his first tenure as Prime Minister, presided over the 1st edition of LIMA. The program contained as usual aerial displays at the civilian airport and a marine show by the various branches of Malaysia’s marine security services, i.e. Navy, Fire & Rescue, Police, Coast Guard and Customs units in front of Resorts World near Porto Malai. In view of the lack of budget to replace the now mothballed Mig-29, the major western manufacturers of fighter jets such as Boeing, Dassault, British Aerospace and Saab declined to participate in the flying display. The Russians delegated the Yak-130 to Malaysia since the focus for new purchases seems to have shifted to a Light Attack aircraft. Offers have been solicited from Russia (Yak-130), Pakistan (YF-17), Korea (T-50) and India who delegated two Tejas light combat fighters to the show. One of the Tejas and the Yak-130 could be seen in the daily flying displays. The static park was slightly smaller than two years ago and included apart from Malaysian aircrafts two Russian Il-76, one Tejas, a C-17 of from the US Air Force, one KC-135 tanker, a Boeing Poseidon P-8 and two EA-18 Growler aircrafts from the US Navy. Among the civilian aircrafts in the static were the Embraer E-190 in the Shark livery and a new Airbus 320 Neo in the colors of Air Asia.

   
 

Su-30MKM and FA-18D - LIMA 2019 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

BAe Hawks 200 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Airbus A400M Atlas (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Airbus A400M Atlas (Saichol Krai-amat)

 
   

Airbus A400M Atlas (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Sikorsky AS-61 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Aero L-39 Albatross (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Pilatus PC-7 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

   
Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Lockheed-C-130 Hercules (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Airbus A400M Atlas (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Static from TV Tower (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Russian Knights

This year, the foreign teams in the flying display were limited to the Russian Knights and the Jupiter Team of Indonesia. Apart from the earlier mentioned Yak-130 and Indian Tejas, all other participants were from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) but in a much bigger way than in the past. It is assumed that the Prime Minister wanted to showcase the assets of the RMAF in a much more prominent way, and the general opinion of the public was that the Malaysians did a fantastic job in filling the void created by the absence of foreign fighters and additional aerobatic teams.

 

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

 

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

 

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

     

KAI KT-1 Woongbi Jupiters (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

KAI KT-1 Woongbi Jupiters (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

KAI KT-1 Woongbi Jupiters (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Guests

While the opening gambit of LIMA was always very special and unique in the world with the participating airplanes appearing from all sides and mostly flying at high speeds, this year’s opening gambit was even more refined and included crossings and sneak passes at such fast intervals that is was difficult to capture all actions with the camera. Participating were four F/A-18D Hornets, six Su-30MKM, five Hawks 200, three A-400M, eight Pilatus PC-7, two AS-61 and two EC-725 helicopters. Completing the opening program were a Boeing B-52 from the US Air Force base in Barksdale, Arizona with two flypasts and a new Airbus A300 MRTT tanker from the Royal Singapore Air Force.

 

Boeing B-52 Superstratofortress (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Airbus A330 MMRT (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Tejas wrapped up (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

   

Tejas (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Tejas (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Tejas (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)

BAe Hawk 200 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

 

BAe Hawk 200 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Yak-130 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Yak-130 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Ilyushin IL-62 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

 

Ilyushin IL-62 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Boeing P-8 Poseidon (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Mc Donnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Boeing EA-18A Growler (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

   
 

Boeing F-15SG (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Embraer E-190 E2 Shark (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

RMAF

The Russian Knights arrived in Langkawi with only five Su-30SM whereof four were used in the flying display. Their program was in two parts, i.e. the team display with four aircrafts and a separate display with a single Su-30SM. Rumors have it that they do not have a sufficient number of trained pilots right now to fly with six aircrafts. New this year were several displays per day of the RMAF’s F/A-18, Su-30MKM, and A-400M. They displayed both in pairs, with three aircrafts and in solo demonstrations. This was in great contrast to past years when only a single Su-30MKM and a single F/A-18D were representing the RMAF in the daily displays. One could see that the Malaysian pilots had been training long and hard for this year’s LIMA, and the result was absolutely outstanding. Where else in the world can you see Su-30s and F/A-18s together performing tactical air displays with flares filling the sky?

   

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

 
   

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Saichol Krai-amat)

   

Suchoi Su-30MKM (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
   
Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
   
Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan) Mc Donnell Douglas FA-18D Hornet (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Finally a thought about the present state of Malaysia’s military aircraft assets. At the middle of last year, the new Defense Minister openly complained that only four Sukhoi Su-30MKM were in flying condition. Nine months later, the visitors of LIMA could see ten Su-30MKM (out of a total of 18) and six F/A-18D Hornets (out of a total of 8) on active duty during the flying displays. It is obvious that the new government is putting more emphasis on keeping the existing fleet of aircrafts in good condition rather than to embark on a purchase of new fighter aircrafts. This is borne out by the total absence of western fighter aircrafts at LIMA’s airshow this year.

Maritime Demo

 

Maritime Demo (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Westland AW-139 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Westland AW-139 (Saichol Krai-amat)

Westland Super Lynx 300 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

     

HAL Chetak Alouette III Indian Navy (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

Eurocopter AS-555SN (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)

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last update 12. May 2019

Written 1. May 2019

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