The former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad dropped a bombshell recently when during an interview with Al-Jazeera News Organization, he said that the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft they bought from the United States (US) could not be programmed for use against another Country.
You can watch the interview yourself where he mentioned the topic starting from the 12:39 mark at:
To summarize some of what he said about military aircraft in general:
- Russian Engines do not last as long as Western Engines
- Malaysian F/A-18 Hornet could not be programmed for use to fight another Country because they don’t have access to the Source Code
- F/A-18 only good for Airshows
The big question for me here is it even possible for the US to program their aircraft not to fight another Country? Unless Mahathir gives us more technical details though, we can only speculate.
I am not even sure if Mahathir himself understands the technical details of it, it is possible that his Air Force Generals just told him the gist of it when he was still Prime Minister.
My guess is that what Mahathir actually means is that their Hornets were programmed to operate their weapons only within Malaysia, and not anywhere else.
So for example, if they decide to use their Hornets to attack the Philippines, they won’t be able to operate their weapons once they leave Malaysian territory and enter Philippine territory.
This may be possible by programming their Navigation systems to somehow work with their Weapons release program, which is why Mahathir was talking about their lack of access to the Source Code because that is where the programming of such a thing could occur.
Again, that is just a guess of mine, they might have used another way to keep the Hornets from “fighting another Country”. Bottomline though is that there is a restriction of some sort so it cannot be used against another Country.
Remember that Pakistan also was not allowed to use their F-16C Fighting Falcon against another Country, but I am not sure if that also meant it is embedded in the Pakistani F-16C’s programming.
‘Source Code Access’
Some Countries and Aircraft Manufacturers do provide access to the Aircraft’s Source Codes, Pakistan for example said that China gave them access to the Source Code for the JF-17 Thunder, that’s why they could integrate any Weapons or Equipment on it.
I heard a rumor before that Saab was offering access to the Source Code also for the JAS-39 Gripen they are offering to the Philippines. At that time, I did not fully understand what it meant, I just thought it meant easier integration of weapons and equipment.
But after what Mahathir said, it might also mean that there will be no restrictions on the Gripens if they provide it to us. The rumor might be true though because Saab confirmed that they gave Thailand access to the Gripen’s Source Code.
SOURCES:
* State Department reprimanded Pakistan for misusing F-16s, Document shows
* DUBAI: Pakistan keeps mum on first JF-17 Buyer
* Saab in Thailand
Check out my Links: https://linktr.ee/rhk111
You can watch the interview yourself where he mentioned the topic starting from the 12:39 mark at:
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Founder of Modern Malaysia, in his seventh episode of Century Witness Program by Al Jazeera Arabic on Youtube
To summarize some of what he said about military aircraft in general:
- Russian Engines do not last as long as Western Engines
- Malaysian F/A-18 Hornet could not be programmed for use to fight another Country because they don’t have access to the Source Code
- F/A-18 only good for Airshows
The big question for me here is it even possible for the US to program their aircraft not to fight another Country? Unless Mahathir gives us more technical details though, we can only speculate.
I am not even sure if Mahathir himself understands the technical details of it, it is possible that his Air Force Generals just told him the gist of it when he was still Prime Minister.
My guess is that what Mahathir actually means is that their Hornets were programmed to operate their weapons only within Malaysia, and not anywhere else.
So for example, if they decide to use their Hornets to attack the Philippines, they won’t be able to operate their weapons once they leave Malaysian territory and enter Philippine territory.
This may be possible by programming their Navigation systems to somehow work with their Weapons release program, which is why Mahathir was talking about their lack of access to the Source Code because that is where the programming of such a thing could occur.
Again, that is just a guess of mine, they might have used another way to keep the Hornets from “fighting another Country”. Bottomline though is that there is a restriction of some sort so it cannot be used against another Country.
Remember that Pakistan also was not allowed to use their F-16C Fighting Falcon against another Country, but I am not sure if that also meant it is embedded in the Pakistani F-16C’s programming.
‘Source Code Access’
Some Countries and Aircraft Manufacturers do provide access to the Aircraft’s Source Codes, Pakistan for example said that China gave them access to the Source Code for the JF-17 Thunder, that’s why they could integrate any Weapons or Equipment on it.
I heard a rumor before that Saab was offering access to the Source Code also for the JAS-39 Gripen they are offering to the Philippines. At that time, I did not fully understand what it meant, I just thought it meant easier integration of weapons and equipment.
But after what Mahathir said, it might also mean that there will be no restrictions on the Gripens if they provide it to us. The rumor might be true though because Saab confirmed that they gave Thailand access to the Gripen’s Source Code.
SOURCES:
* State Department reprimanded Pakistan for misusing F-16s, Document shows
* DUBAI: Pakistan keeps mum on first JF-17 Buyer
* Saab in Thailand
Check out my Links: https://linktr.ee/rhk111
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