By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
The T-50 Golden Eagle, the world's first supersonic-designed trainer jet, has suffered a setback in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by losing its bid to supply the Middle East nation to Italy's M-346. With the two jet planes now facing another make-or-break duel in Singapore, it's still not clear Iraq's interest in the jet will give the Korean side a turnaround on its future.
Singapore had already shortlisted the T-50 and the M-346, a product by Aermacchi, in its $500-million contest to buy a dozen jet trainer planes to be used in its air force, and a preferred bidder is likely to be selected at the end of this year.
Unlike the competition in the UAE, Singapore takes a stand on the connection to a pilot education system in the bid, which means the country will not only own the jets, but a pilot-training institute. After ruling out BAE Systems' Hawk from the running, Singapore narrowed the running down to the M-346 and the T-50 late last year in preparation to buy new jet trainers.
All in all, it's a tag match between the pairs of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin, and the ally of Aermacchi, Boeing, and Singapore's ST Engineering.
The T-50, developed by the KAI, began being churned out in 2005 at a price of 23 billion won per unit. In spite of cutting-edge features and performances, its high price eventually stood in the way when KAI battled it out in the United States, and it lost in the end.
Twenty-five T-50 aircraft have already been delivered to South Korea, the launch customer, part of a planned order of 72 aircraft, and Lockheed Martin and the KAI are now eyeing the possibility of supplying 60 light-attack versions of the aircraft to the Korean Air Force. Elsewhere, Poland and Greece are being targeted as potential European customers for the trainer.
The news of Iraq's wooing action could buoy potential demand for the Korean product, experts say.
"Actually, the most important thing in exporting a jet is to win a bid. Not many countries will be interested in a jet that has never been verified in competition," a military critic said on condition of anonymity.
Another military analyst, who also declined to be identified, said the government needs to play a better role in order not to repeat the same mistake as in the UAE.
"The government's role is much bigger than it appears in this kind of competition," he said. "And what the Korean government did in the UAE is, to be frank, far from decent."
Italy, which had developed close ties with Middle Eastern countries over the years, rolled out marketing promotions there with pledges of large industrial cooperation projects, including construction of an F-1 racing track, while Korea could not throw equivalently mouth-watering bait at the country. None of the Korean projects have been delivered to Abu Dhabi through a ministerial channel.
When National Assembly Speaker Rep. Kim Hyeong-o visited the UAE in January, he heard from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, that the preferred bidder will be "decided upon industrial cooperation offered, as well as the trainer jet quality." He remarked that the country hadn't heard anything from Seoul for nine months, indicating the UAE had already turned its eyes off Korea, sources say.
To make matters worse, Seoul didn't even take the opportunity of a last chance from Abu Dhabi, after the Korean delegation failed to make it to February's International Defense Exhibition & Conference held there, where UAE was awaiting a new offer.
Other critics also question the recent shakeup in the KAI management. The company appointed Kim Hong-kyung, former deputy vice minister of commerce, industry and energy and president of the Small Business Cooperation as its new CEO at its shareholders meeting in August last year.
No particular reason came out for substituting Kim with his predecessor, Chung Hae-joo, who had been purportedly committed to the bid. Kim was a member of President Lee Myung-bak's civilian advisors' group and also worked on Lee's takeover committee prior to his inauguration in February last year.