By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said Monday that it has won a 220 billion won contract to sell some 10 supersonic trainer jets to the aerobatics team of the Air Force.
The selection of the T-50 ``Golden Eagle'' by the famous Black Eagle aerobatics team will help KAI sell the plane to other nations, the firm said. Since its introduction in 2005, KAI and the government have been trying to sell the plane to several countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Greece.
The company did not disclose how many planes it will deliver to the air show team because of the Air Force's policy, but it is estimated to be around 10 units, considering that a T-50 is priced at around 2.3 billion won.
``The Air Force is guaranteeing the quality of the plane with this purchase,'' said KAI's public relations manager Lee Myong-hwan. ``Foreign buyers will be convinced even more when they see the Black Eagle team make various maneuvers with the T-50.''
The selection will also make the Black Eagle one of three aerobatics teams in the world along with the United States and Russia that use homemade supersonic jets, KAI said.
T-50 was developed by KAI in conjunction with Lockheed Martin as a jet trainer for the Republic of Korea Air Force. The government gave the go-ahead to the T-50 development program in October 1997, after the completion of the conceptual design, which started in 1992.
The first T-50 was rolled out in October 2001 and its maiden flight was successfully conducted in August 2002. The first supersonic flight was conducted successfully in 2003, making Korea one of the 12 countries to conduct supersonic flight with the indigenous aircraft.
Mass production began in 2005 and the program was completed in January 2006. KAI was responsible for the system integration ― such as the design, analysis, ground test program, and flight test program ― and for the final assembly of the aircraft, while Lockheed Martin provided technical assistance and avionics integration and flight control.
Black Eagle has conducted more than 500 shows in and out of Korea since 1994 with A-37 ``Dragonfly'' fighters, which were used in the Vietnam War. The Air Force retired the 40-year-old planes last year.
indizio@koreaitmes.co.kr