Marhalim Abas, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, covers Southeast Asian defense. He has worked as a journalist specializing in Southeast Asia defense and security since 1994, initially with the New Straits Times newspaper.
The possible foreign military sale of ordnance, equipment and services worth $415 million for a Singaporean training detachment of Boeing F-15s in Idaho has been OK'd.
Malaysia has fielded a locally developed threat simulator to train its fighter pilots to deal with ground-based defensive systems such as surface-to-air missiles and radar-guided guns.
