RMAF Kuantan Air Base

RMAF Kuantan TUDM Kuantan
RMAF and USN crew in photo session at RMAF Kuantan during CARAT exercise
IATA: none ICAO: WMKD
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Royal Malaysian Air Force, Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Malaysian Air Force
Location	Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Time zone	MST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation  AMSL	55 ft / 17 m
Coordinates	03°46′11″N103°12′34″E / 3.76972°N 103.20944°E / 3.76972; 103.20944
Map
RMAF Kuantan Location in Pahang Show map of Pahang RMAF Kuantan RMAF Kuantan (Peninsular Malaysia) Show map of Peninsular Malaysia RMAF Kuantan RMAF Kuantan (Malaysia) Show map of Malaysia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 18/36 2,804 9,199 Asphalt
Sources: AIP Malaysia [1]

RMAF Kuantan (Malay : TUDM Kuantan) is an airbase of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (Malay : Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia). It is located in Kuantan, Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia. It shares the runway and other facilities with Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport. ^[2]

History

RMAF Kuantan air base entrance as seen from main road.

Mothballed Mikoyan MiG-29 of RMAF under shelter in RMAF Kuantan in 2022.

Kuantan began life as RAF Kuantan.

The following squadrons were here at some point:

• No. 32 Squadron RAF detachment between July 1961 and February 1969 with the English Electric Canberra B.15 ^[3]
• No. 36 Squadron RAF detachment between July 1935 and December 1941 with the Vickers Vildebeest III ^[4]
• No. 45 Squadron RAF detachment between September 1962 and April 1965 with the Canberra B.15 ^[5]
• No. 60 Squadron RAF detachment between February and July 1941 with the Bristol Blenheim I ^[6]
• No. 62 Squadron RAF detachment between February and December 1941 with the Blenheim I ^[6]
• No. 100 Squadron RAF detachment between December 1941 and January 1942 with the Bristol Beaufort I ^[7]

RMAF Kuantan was established on 24 June 1968. Its early squadrons consisted of No. 3 Squadron and No. 9 Squadron that flew Canadair CL-41G Tebuan jet trainers. In 1985 the CL-41G Tebuans were replaced by Douglas A-4 Skyhawks and BAE Systems Hawks. In 1995, the RMAF received Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29s, which are based at Kuantan and operated by No. 17 Squadron and No. 19 Squadron. ^[8] Other than being a base for fixed-wing aircraft, RMAF Kuantan is also a base for helicopters such as the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King and Eurocopter EC725. ^[9] The ATSC MiG Technical Centre, which is the company responsible for providing maintenance for the Mikoyan MiG-29s, is also located on the base. ^[10]

Squadrons assigned

Main squadron

Division	Squadrons	Aircraft assigned	Notes
1st Division	No. 17 Squadron	Mikoyan MiG-29	In reserve
1st Division	No. 19 Squadron	Mikoyan MiG-29	In reserve
1st Division	No. 10 Squadron	Eurocopter EC725

Training squadron

Division	Squadrons	Aircraft assigned	Notes
Training Division	3 FTC	Aermacchi MB-339

See also

• Aviation portal

• Royal Malaysian Air Force bases
• List of airports in Malaysia

References

1. WMKD – KUANTAN Archived 2013-12-27 at the Wayback Machine at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
2. Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport, Kuantan official page at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
3. Jefford 2001, p. 39.
4. Jefford 2001, p. 40.
5. Jefford 2001, p. 43.
6. Jefford 2001, p. 47.
7. Jefford 2001, p. 56.
8. "Authorized Maintenance Centre for MiG 29".
9. "Portal Rasmi Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia TUDM - Kuantan". www.airforce.mil.my. Archived from the original on 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
10. "Authorized Maintenance Centre for MiG 29".

• Jefford, C. G. (2001). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN   1-84037-141-2.