The Royal Malaysian Air Force put out a video showing their Su-30MKM fighters specifically designed for Malaysia, dropping 500-pound GBU-12s made by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, Sputnik reported Friday.
The platform has been tested in November 2016 at the Air Force’s weapons testing range, the video’s accompanying caption said.
The laser-guided bombs use a passive heat-seeking homing system to detect and strike targets.
The GBU-12 is in the same family of weapons as the KABs, but smaller (507 pounds to the KAB-500L’s 1102) and equipped with a GPS to give it a more flexible trajectory.
In 2012, Malaysia purchased six Raytheon AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared pods for bomb and missile targeting. It used them to upgrade their Boeing F/A-18D Hornets, which are primarily used by the US Marines for air support during night attacks.
The Malaysian Air Force has a fleet of 49 combat aircraft: 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKMs, eight Boeing F/A-18Ds, 10 Russian-made MiG-29s and 13 British BAE Hawk 208s. The Sukhois make up the core of the fleet and are equipped with both Russian and Western systems.
Previously, Malaysia’s Hornets deployed GBU-12s against several hundred Filipino militants attempting to seize territory in North Borneo.
The Hornets and Hawks bombed with GBU-12s on the militants’ headquarters before sending commandos in to sweep them up.
