The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, Malay: Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: تنترا اودارا دراج مليسيا) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (Tentera Udara Diraja Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; تنترا اودارا دراج ڤرسكوتون تانه ملايو).

On 25 October 1962, after the end of the Malayan Emergency, the RAF handed over their first airfields in Malaya to the RFMAF, at Simpang Airport; it was opened on 1 June 1941, in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur which was formerly part of Selangor and the national capital city.

The first aircraft for the fledgling air force was a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer named "Lang Rajawali" by the then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

RMAF also purchased 88 ex-US Navy Douglas A-4C Skyhawks, of which 40 of the airframes were converted/refurbished by Grumman Aircraft Engineering at Bethpage into the A-4PTM ('Peculiar To Malaysia'), configuration (similar to A-4M standard).

However, limitations imposed by the US on "new technology" to the region, such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM fire-and-forget air-to-air missile, has made RMAF consider purchases from Russia and other non-traditional sources.

Later that year, Najib announced the Sikorsky S-61A4 Nuri helicopter, in service since 1968 with 89 crew members killed in 15 accidents, would be phased out by 2012 and replaced by the Eurocopter EC725.

[4] Deputy RMAF Chief Lieutenant General Bashir Abu Bakar told the media after opening Heli-Asia 2007, that tender assessment for the replacement of the Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri would occur in early 2008.

These units are: The special forces arm of the RMAF is known as PASKAU (a Malay acronym for Pasukan Khas Udara, which loosely translates as 'Special Air Service').

PASKAU was formed in response to a mortar attack by the then Communist Party of Malaya on a DHC-4 Caribou in the 1970s at the Kuala Lumpur Air Base.

During peacetime, the unit is tasked with responding to aircraft hijacking incidents as well as protecting the country's numerous RMAF airbases and civilian airports.

Its wartime roles include ground designation, sabotaging of enemy air assets and equipment and the defence of RMAF aircraft and bases.

[17] The program was put on hold indefinitely in 2014 as a result of budget restrictions and the forthcoming Eleventh Malaysia Plan, which covers government spending from 2016 to 2020.

[21] The Russian defence export corporation, Rosoboronexport, which previously supplied the Royal Malaysian Air Force with the Sukhoi Su-30MKM expressed its readiness to discuss the prospect of establishing joint licensed production facilities in Malaysia in 2016.

However, as a result of economic uncertainty as well as the rise of Islamist militancy in the region (see the Siege of Marawi in the neighbouring Philippines), immediate priority shifted from procuring new combat aircraft to increasing surveillance capability and the MRCA program was put on hold again with the a final decision only expected as late as 2020.

[23][24][25] With economic difficulties hindering the completion of MRCA program, then deputy defence minister Ikmal Hisham announced that the government would seek to purchase the Kuwaiti Air Force's F/A-18C/D Hornet fleet, which it was phasing out in favour of newer aircraft in 2021.

[27] Eight designs were submitted during the initial phase of the program, with the major contenders being the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master, HAL Tejas and KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, while the Aero L-39NG, Boeing T-7 Red Hawk, Hongdu L-15 Falcon, Yakovlev Yak-130 and CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder were considered unlikely to be selected owing to their relatively new designs as well as the possibility of United States Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions.

Six designs were submitted, Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master, HAL Tejas, KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, Hondu L-15 Falcon, Mikoyan MiG-35 and TAI Hürjet.

[34] The RMAF expressed a need for increasing its maritime patrol capability with new aircraft as early as 2011, but budgetary constraints meant approval for new acquisitions wasn't given until 2017.

[37] In 2018, the Malaysian government signed a contract with Indonesian Aerospace to convert three of the RMAF's existing CN-235 transport planes into maritime patrol aircraft.

[44] Saab has also previously signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) concerning airborne early warning and control systems with Malaysian company DRB-HICOM, which owns DefTech, a local defence contractor.

[47] The major contenders of this project would be the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, TAI Anka, Bayraktar TB2, Safran Patroller, Thales Watchkeeper WK450, Kronshtadt Orion, CAIG Wing Loong and CASC Rainbow.

[48] As of March 2022, it is reported the program is currently undergoing physical evaluation stage which has been shortlisted by the Procurement Board of the Ministry of Defence, and this process is still ongoing.

[4] Deputy RMAF Chief Lieutenant General Bashir Abu Bakar told the media after opening Heli-Asia 2007 that tender assessment for the replacement of the Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri would occur in early 2008.

[54] In 2021, it is reported the US Department of Defense has 'gifted' an export version of Lockheed Martin TPS-77 MMR to Malaysia in order to provide secure interoperable C3I (Command Control Communications and Intelligence) and sensor systems supporting U.S. Joint Air Operations to US Government FMS (Foreign Military Sales) customers.