The Government of Malaysia ordered eight F/A-18D Hornets under a contract signed on December 9, 1993. The first four aircraft arrived at Butterworth on May 27, 1997, following which Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) 18 Skuadron was officially formed on July 1, 1997, to operate the aircraft, the remaining four of which arrived on August 28, 1997. Since then, Boeing has been providing sustainment support for the fleet at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth, Malaysia.
The air force split their order between the F/A-18 and the Mikoyan MiG-29. Three Hornets were employed together with five UK-made BAE Hawk 208 in an airstrike on the Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo terrorist hideout on March 5, 2013, occupying part of Borneo, just before the joint forces of Malaysian Army and Royal Malaysia Police operatives launched an assault in the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff.
Video by RMAF No 18 Squadron
