 Korea’s T-50 supersonic trainer aircraft |
Staff Reporter
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reopened talks to purchase South Korea's T-50 supersonic trainer aircraft, following stalled negotiations to acquire Italy's M-346 trainer jets, defense procurement officials here said Thursday.
The move is expected to boost Korea's bid to sell the trainer to Singapore, which is to announce a final bidder by March.
In February last year, the UAE selected the M-346 built by Italy's Alenia Aermacchi as the preferred bidder for a $1.4 billion deal to acquire 48 trainer jets, dealing a blow to Seoul's effort to make the first overseas sale of the T-50 co-developed with Lockheed Martin of the United States.
But the Middle East nation has not signed a final contract with Aermacchi due to ``misunderstanding between officials of the UAE and the Italian aircraft maker'' over related trainer specifications, the officials said.
Noticeably, the about-face by the UAE followed a landmark $20-billion deal between Korea and the Middle Eastern country to build four nuclear reactors there.
In line with the deal, both nations agreed to expand their defense cooperation, according to the Ministry of National Defense.
To that end, Korea promised to transfer key arms technologies related to unmanned aerial vehicles, ballistic missiles and electromagnetic pulse bombs to the UAE, according to informed government sources.
``Senior UAE government officials indicated that they might retract the selection of the preferred bidder for the trainer acquisition should negotiations with Italy fail, but there has been no official announcement on that,'' an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said. ``So the UAE is expected to closely monitor the outcome of Singapore's forthcoming trainer jet competition before making its final decision.''
The T-50 and M-346, are shortlisted in Singapore's jet trainer contest. Both aircraft will be displayed at the Singapore Airshow from Feb. 2 through 7.
The single-engine T-50 features digital flight controls and a modern, ground-based training system. It is designed to have the maneuverability, endurance and systems to prepare pilots to fly next-generation fighters, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F-22 Raptor, the Rafale and the F-35 Lightning II.
The jet has a top speed of Mach 1.4 and an operational range of 1,851 kilometers.
Other potential customers include Iraq, Israel, Greece and Poland.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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