Korea’s T-50 Spreads Its Wings
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Korea’s defense industry is advancing on all fronts these days. On the armored vehicle front, vehicles like the XK2 tank and K9/K10 self propelled howitzer are beginning to win export orders, and its XK-21 amphibious infantry fighting vehicle may not be too far behind. All fill key market niches, promising performance at a comparatively inexpensive price. Its shipbuilding industry, one of the world’s busiest, is beginning to turn out LHDs, and December 2008 saw its first-of-class KDX-III AEGIS destroyer accepted into service on time and on budget. Now its aerospace industry is in flight with the already-exported KT-1 trainer/ light attack aircraft. Not to mention a clever entry into an incipient market.
Enter the T-50 Golden Eagle family, which offers a supersonic high-end trainer and light fighter aircraft at an attractive price. The aircraft is hitting the international market just as many of the world’s jet training fleets are reaching ages of 30 years or more, and high-end fighters are pricing themselves out of reach for many countries. The T/A-50 LIFT variant and F/A-50 lightweight fighter are especially attractive as lightweight export fighters, and the ROKAF’s own F-5E/F Tiger II and F-4 Phantom fighters are more than due for replacement.
Weapons export and corporate issues have now been resolved, and a contract to produce the F/A-50 is now underway. Iraq has now confirmed interest in the T-50, while the UAE has chosen a competitor – leading to some second-guessing and retrospective analysis in South Korea…
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