All eyes turned skywards in Penang today with the arrival of four Royal Air Force Typhoons.
The Typhoon aircraft have flown from the UK ahead of the LIMA 2013 air show on Langkawi next week. The 29 Squadron RAF team will be displaying the new multi-role combat aircraft at the event and promise air show spectators a performance to remember.
Display pilot Flt Lt Jamie Norris is paying his first ever visit to Malaysia and is looking forward to the Show.
'I've been working hard on the 2013 display through a damp and cold English winter. So to arrive and perform my first display of the 2013 season in a warm and beautiful Malaysia is a great pleasure and honour for me and the team,' he said.
The RAF team will be based at Butterworth and Langkawi during its stay in Malaysia and, now they have arrived, they will set about implementing plans for the Show which begins on Tuesday 26 March.
BAE are one of the four European partner industries that developed Typhoon and we are leading a bid to offer the jet to the Royal Malaysian Air Force once its competition for MiG 29 replacement gets underway later this year. We are exhibiting at the show and are pleased to have Typhoon along to display its capabilities.
'Our job is to let Malaysia know that selecting Typhoon is not just about owning a world-leading fighter. It is also important to know that it means sustained benefits to the Malaysian economy through industrial partnerships, jobs, technology and skills development. While we will be getting those 'partnership' messages across on the ground at LIMA we can leave Typhoon to do its own talking - in the air above Langkawi.” said our KL-based regional managing director, John Brosnan.