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Korean military seeks to export 24 FA-50 light fighter jets to Peru

Korean military seeks to export 24 FA-50 light fighter jets to Peru

Posted February. 04, 2015 08:04,   

한국어

The Korean military authority is seeking to export FA-50 light attack aircraft made in Korea to Peru. The deal is worth 1 billion U.S. dollars, including 24 FA-50 light fight jets and a pilot training program. A source in the military said on Tuesday, “The project is estimated at a total of 2 billion dollars, including subsequent military supplies such as supply of parts.”

Peru will select the type of its light attack aircraft in the second half of this year. Candidates include the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)’ FA-50, Russia’s YAK-130, Italy’s M-346 and China’s L-15. KAI participated in a basic trainer procurement project of the Peruvian Air Force, and secured a contract to export 20 KT-1 basic trainers made in Korea in November 2012. A KAI source said, “The Peruvian Air Force is very satisfied with the performance of the KT-1.” Watchers say that the FA-50 will gain the upper hand in the competitive bid to supply light attack aircraft to Peru again this time.

If the FA-50 is picked as Peru’s light attack aircraft model, Korea will likely see green light in the bid to supply it to the U.S. Air Force’s advanced trainer procurement project (TX) as well. The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to select an aircraft model for its TX project to introduce 400 airplanes in 2017. A source in the Korean military said, “Because chances are high that airplane models that participate in the bid to supply Peru’s light attack aircraft project will also take part in the TX project, it is important that the FA-50 earns recognition for its excellence in Peru.”

The FA-50 was developed based on the Korean-made advanced trainer T-50 in order to replace the aging fighter jet fleet of the Korean Air Force. The aircraft can fly at speeds of up to Mach 1.5, and load up to 4.5 tons of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. Korea exported 16 units of the T-50 line aircraft to Indonesia in 2011, 24 to Iraq in 2013, and 12 to the Philippines last year.