Paying it Back
Korea will export domestically-made FA-50 fighter jets to the Philippines.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration revealed on March 28 that Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) procured an order from the Philippine air force to provide 12 FA-50 fighter jets under a government-to-government deal.
For this export deal of US$420 million, KAI will deliver the jets in the next 38 months. The FA-50 is a light attack variant of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer that was co-developed by KAI and U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin.
This T-50 family jet export deal is the third one after exporting 16 jets to Indonesia in 2011, and 24 jets to Iraq in 2013.
The FA-50 is 13.13m in length, 9.45m in width, and 4.85m in height, and its maximum speed is Mach 1.5. It is also capable of carrying 4,500 kilograms of weapons. It is in the same class as Sweden’s Gripen, Italy’s M-346, Russia’s Yak-130, and England’s Hawk. But the FA-50 was chosen after its high performance in relation to cost was recognized.
KAI convinced the Philippine air force that the FA-50 is a perfect fit for the Philippine environment, since they wanted to purchase fighter jets with battle capabilities for air-to-air mid distance, and the FA-50 is capable of tactical strategy entry training.
In the meantime, the Korean air force stressed the merits of operating the T-50 family of aircraft, supported Philippine air force’s evaluating flight, and pledged to provide training for pilots and mechanics that were needed for the export.
At 3 p.m. on the same day (local time), Philippine Defense Chief Voltaire Gazmin, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Commissioner Lee Yong-geol, and KAI CEO Ha Sung-yong attended the signing ceremony held at the Philippine defense ministry.
KAI said that is also seeking to sell its T-50 family aircraft to Peru, Botswana, and the United Arab Emirates, while eyeing the U.S. Air Force’s T-38 replacement program in partnership with Lockheed Martin. It predicted that if KAI succeeds in America’s Terminatrix (T-X) bidding with 500 aircraft, exporting over 1,000 aircraft will be in the realm of possibility.