Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on Wednesday held a roll-out ceremony for the first FA-50GF light combat aircraft to be exported to Poland, in a symbolic display of the two countries’ growing cooperation in the arms industry. Yonhap reported that following flight tests through next month, KAI plans to supply 12 FA-50GF light combat aircrafts by the end of this year. In September 2022, KAI inked the “executive” contract with Warsaw’s Armament Agency to supply 48 FA-50 jets. GF stands for the “gap filler” meant to replace Poland’s aging fleet with the group of the new aircraft. Aside from the 12 FA-50GF light combat aircrafts to be delivered this year, KAI plans to supply 36 units of the upgraded version, named FA-50PL, from the latter half of 2025 through 2028. FA-50PL is upgraded by extending its range through the aerial refueling function and enhancing the active electronically scanned array (AESA) and air-to-surface and air-to-air weapons.
Under the theme of “Firm Commitment, Secure Future,” the ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, some 300 kilometers south of Seoul. The ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, as well as South Korea’s Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa and Defense Acquisition Program Administration chief Eom Dong-hwan.
Thanks to the speedy release of FA-50GF, Poland is now able to equip itself with more advanced military strategies and realize the military modernization. I look forward to seeing FA-50GF fly in the airspace of Poland,” Blaszczak said.
We were able to successfully push for such a defense cooperation project within the short span of time due to not only our company’s outstanding technology and production capacity, but also trust between the two countries and Poland’s determination,” Lee Jong-sup said.
Poland has emerged as South Korea’s major weapons buyer as it has signed contracts with the Asian country to procure K2 tanks, K-9 self-propelled howitzers and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers in addition to the fighter jets. The two sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in the defense sector in line with their growing arms industry ties and discussed ways for cooperation, such as mutual visits between their troops that operate the same weapons systems, as agreed during their February talks. The two ministers were also scheduled to attend the third session of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Joint Live-Fire Exercise on Wednesday at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border. The allies’ largest-ever combined live-fire drills took place on May 25 and last Friday. It is scheduled to be staged two more times, next Monday and Thursday.
The FA-50 is a light combat aircraft manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). It is a light combat version of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft. The FA-50 measures 13.14m in length, 9.45m in width, and 4.82m in height. The empty weight of the aircraft is 6.47t. It can take-off with a maximum gross weight of 12.3t. The FA-50 aircraft can carry a weapons load of up to 4.5t. The aircraft can be armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground tactical missiles (AGM), GBU-38/B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), CBU-105 Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW), Mk-82 Low Drag General Purpose (LDGP) bombs and Cluster Bomb Units (CBUs). The aircraft is also mounted with an internal, three-barrel 20mm Gatling gun and LAU-3/A 19-tube 2.75″ rocket launcher for firing Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR).
