South Korea T-50 Golden Eagle Trainer

T-50 delivers a total advanced training system that will bridge the gap between basic flight training & high-performance fighters.
General characteristics

• Crew: 2


• Length: 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in)


• Wingspan: 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in)


• Height: 4.78 m (15 ft 8.25 in)


• Empty weight: 6,450 kg (14,200 lb)


• Max takeoff weight: 13,500 kg (29,700 lb)


• Powerplant: 1× General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 53.07 kN (11,925 lbf)
  
  
  • Thrust with afterburner: 78.7 kN (17,700 lbf)
  
  

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.4~1.5


• Range: 1,851 km (1,150 mi)


• Service ceiling: 16,760 m (55,000 ft)


• Thrust/weight: 0.96


• Max g limit: -3 g / +8 g

Armament

• Guns: 1× A-50 3-barreled 20 mm M197 Gatling gun


• Rockets: Hydra 70, LOGIR


• Missiles: ** Air-to-air: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM
  • Air-to-ground: AGM-65 Maverick
  
  


• Bombs: Mk 82, Mk 83, and Mk 84 general purpose bombs with SPICE, JDAM, or JDAM-ER guidance kits; CBU-97/105 sensor fuzed weapons, laser-guided bombs

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South Korean UAS Deals To Hinge On Israeli Trainer Choice

The future of some potential deals to purchase Israeli-made aerial systems by the South Korean defence ministry will depend on whether the Israeli air force selects the Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50 as its new advanced jet trainer.

South Korea's military has been evaluating several Israeli systems in recent months, including unmanned air systems. Its evaluations are being made with the assistance of Sibat, the Israeli defence ministry division in charge of securing defence exports.

Seoul is focusing its interest in the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron (below) and Elbit Systems Hermes 450 UAS. Its shopping list also includes other systems, but the Israeli companies involved have refused to release more details.

Sources related to the competition said on 29 March that while it is not officially stated, the "key people" in Israel are aware of the connection between the selection and the extent of the possible South Korean purchases of equipment from Israel.



South Korea has previously bought Israeli systems such as IAI's Harpy attack drone and the company's Green Pine long-range missile launch detection radar. However, its potential new shopping list has become longer "and more diversified", according to one source.

Meanwhile, a proposed joint venture between Elbit and IAI that would purchase the Israeli air force's favoured trainer design and then sell flight hours to the service at its flight academy should be formally established in the coming days.

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Indonesia To Get T-50 Golden Eagle Advanced Jet Trainer From KAI

Indonesia has selected Korea Aerospace Industries as the preferred bidder for its 16-aircraft advanced jet trainer requirement, paving the way for the first export sale of the T-50 Golden Eagle.

KAI received a letter from the Indonesian government on 12 April informing it of the decision, says an industry source. The source understands that preferred bidder status means that Indonesia will conduct commercial negotiations exclusively with KAI. These are likely to take between three and four months to finalise, the source adds. Indonesia also desires industrial co-operation on the project.

The news represents an important win for the T-50, which has previously lost competitions to the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

An alleged spying incident at a Seoul hotel in January appeared to have threatened the Indonesia T-50 deal. A member of an Indonesian defence delegation visiting South Korea returned to his room to find three individuals looking at his laptop computer. The individuals fled and their identities were never determined.

The incident received wide publicity in the South Korean and Indonesian press, although the governments in Seoul and Jakarta played down its importance.

According to media reports in South Korea, Seoul told Jakarta that if it chose the T-50, then it would consider buying more Indonesian Aerospace-built CN-235 transport aircraft. The South Korean air force and coastguard already operate the type.

The other contenders in the competition to replace Indonesia's BAE Systems Hawk 53s were the Aero Vodochody L-159 and Yakovlev Yak-130. An Indonesian air force delegation visited South Korea in April 2010 to test-fly the nation's air force T-50s.

Jakarta's T-50 decision follows other efforts to upgrade the nation's air force. In November 2010 it purchased eight Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to replace Vietnam War-era Rockwell OV-10 Broncos. Then in January 2011 it awarded Arinc Engineering Services a $66.7 million contract to modernise five of its Lockheed Martin C-130B transports.

Indonesia is also considering upgrading its 10 Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters. Media reports have also said that the nation will buy 24 ex-US Air Force F-16s, but this has not been officially announced by either Washington or Jakarta.

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Indonesia Orders 16 T-50 Golden Eagle Jet Trainers

Indonesia has placed a $400 million order for 16 Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainers, the type's first export sale.

The Indonesian Defense Ministry signed the deal on Wednesday, said Enes Park, executive vice president of KAI. The contract stipulates that the aircraft must be delivered 18 months after the signing of a loan agreement between the South Korean and Indonesian governments.

The announcement follows a 12 April letter the Indonesian government sent to KAI designating the South Korean firm as the preferred bidder to replace Indonesia's BAE Systems Hawk 53s. The letter all but sealed the fate of the T-50's rivals in the competition, the Aero Vodochody L-159 and Yakovlev Yak-130.

The 16 General Electric F404-powered aircraft will be produced at the KAI facilities in Sacheon, South Korea. They will shipped to Indonesia partially disassembled, where Indonesia state aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia/Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) will reassemble them.

"The aircraft is certainly capable of being ferried, but transporting them meets Indonesian industrial regulations," says Park. "(Re-assembling) the aircraft will help them improve their capabilities."

Despite the best efforts of KAI and the South Korean government, theT-50 lost trainer competitions in both the United Arab Emirates and Singapore to the Alenia Aermacchi M-346.

The T-50 will again square off against its rival in Israel and the USA. In 2012, the Israeli Air Force will decide between the T-50 and M-346 to replaces its Douglas A-4 Skyhawk trainers. In early May, Alenia Aermacchi general manager Alessandra Franzoni said America's T-X competition to replace the 1960s era Northrop T-38C will be a two horse race between the T-50 and M-346.

Park adds that there could be a possibility of selling Indonesia the T-50's combat variant, the F/A-50. "While there have been no concrete discussions on this, there is a distinct possibility of this in the future."

Indonesia is also still involved in South Korea's proposed KF-X programme, says Park.

At the Farnborough air show in 2010, South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia, with the latter to potentially contribute up to 20% of the KF-X development costs. Indonesia is currently looking at how it might participate in the project.

The T-50 buy is just the latest example of Jakarta's efforts to upgrade the nation's air force. In November 2010, it purchased eight Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to replace Vietnam War-era Rockwell OV-10 Broncos. In January 2011 it awarded Arinc Engineering Services a $66.7 million contract to modernise five Lockheed Martin C-130Bs.

Indonesia is also considering upgrading its 10 Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters. Media reports have said Jakarta will buy 24 ex-US Air Force F-16s, but this has not been officially announced by either Washington or Jakarta.

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