Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
Korea seeks to export FA-50s to Peru
FA-50
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
The government is seeking to export Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50s to Peru, according to military sources Tuesday.
“The government has been pushing to sell 24 FA-50s to Peru,” a source said on the condition of anonymity. “We are planning to submit a proposal within the month to participate in Peru’s fighter purchase project.”
The source said selling the light attack aircraft along with programs to train pilots would be worth about $1 billion. Considering the necessary logistical support, the total amount of exports could reach $2 billion.
Lima is expected to select a fighter jet model in the second half of the year.
During the bidding process, Korea is likely to compete with Russia’s YAK-130, Italy’s M-346 and China’s L-15, the source noted.
The FA-50 is a light combat version of the T-50 supersonic trainer, co-developed by KAI and the United States aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
First unveiled in January 2006 and the most advanced variant of the T-50 family operated by the South Korean Air Force, the FA-50 was developed as a replacement for the Air Force’s F-5E/F when the aging fighters are retired.
It can carry a weapons load of up to 4.5 tons and be armed with a wide range of weapons systems including AIM-9 sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles and AGM-65 air-to-ground tactical missiles, as well as precision-guided weapons such as the GBU-38/B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and CBU-105 Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW).
Its maximum speed is Mach 1.5.
Korea exported 16 FA-50s to Indonesia in 2011 and 24 to Iraq in 2013. Its latest sale was to the Philippines last year, which bought 12.
Another source stressed that Seoul could be a favorable seller, as KAI won a $200 million deal for 20 KT-1 basic trainer aircraft from Peru in November 2012.
Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo has asked the Peruvian authorities to show “interest in South Korean companies that have been participating in the fighter project,” according to his office.
He is in Lima for a three-day visit starting Monday as part of his Latin American tour that began Friday and also took him to Columbia.
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