GOVT CAN NOW UPGRADE NURI INSTEAD OF BUYING NEW CHOPPERS

BY NOR BAIZURA BASRI

LANGKAWI (Malaysia), Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Instead of buying new helicopters
to replace the Nuri, the government now has the alternative of upgrading the
helicopters which are currently being used for multi-purpose tasks in Malaysia.

Airod Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Kamil Aziz said Nuri was still
supportable, however, suitable equipment needed to be installed in the
aircraft.

He said the Nuri, which was previously used for combat, research and rescue,
was currently used for multi tasks, including serving as a utility helicopter,
and it was therefore crucial that necessary equipment be fitted to support its
role.

"About 600 Nuris, or S61 aircraft are flying around the world. This showed
that the aircraft can still be used for the long-term and for various tasks,"
Kamil told Bernama and government-owned public broadcaster, RTM, on the
sidelines of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2009
(LIMA) here Monday.

Airod is one of the exhibitors at LIMA. Its holding company, the National
Aerospace and Defence Industries (Nadi) is the biggest Malaysian exhibitor at
the event.

Kamil added that Airod, which specialises in maintenance, repair and
overhaul (MRO) services, was introducing an upgraded system for the Royal
Malaysian Air Force's Nuri S61A-4 aircraft, which included the installation of a
new integrated cockpit display system.

He said this served as a cost effective replacement for the older analogue
instrument, a 40-year old system in the Nuri's cockpit.

"The upgraded cockpit will provide significant improvement to the
aircraft's capability and will be air worthy for the next 10 to 15 years," he
said.

Apart from solving the obsolescence issues related to the support of the
older indicators and sensors, the glass cockpit display also provided for lower
cost of ownership and enhanced situational awareness thereby reducing pilot
workload.

The system can also reduce future accidents which has been the critical
issue surrounding the Nuri, said Kamil.

"We are currently in talks with the government. We have to see the
level of interest (shown) by the government before submitting any official
proposal. During initial talks they have expressed interest," he said.

So far, the government is yet to make a decision on the purchase of
utility helicopters to replace the aging Nuri.

Last September, the Defence Ministry agreed to buy 12 Eurocopter EC 725
helicopters worth RM1.6 billion (US$471.63 million).

However, the decision was later deferred.

Currently, there are 28 Nuri helicopters operating and can be used until
2015 as they are regularly maintained.
-- BERNAMA