Air Force has new training plane
KT-100 training plane
By Kim Hyo-jin
The Air Force said Wednesday a new training aircraft, the KT-100, has been put into service.
Pilots of all levels ― from beginner to skilled ― can now train in a locally developed aircraft, it said.
The Air Force Academy rolled out the KT-100 during a ceremony at Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, celebrating the delivery of two trainer aircraft from the country’s sole aircraft maker, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
It said the new model will replace the aging Russian-made Ilyushin T-103s that have been used to train beginner-level cadets.
“The Air Force is expected to acquire some 20 planes from KAI and begin training its instructors by the end of this year,” an Air Force official said. “We plan to train cadets with it starting from 2017.”
The move will allow the Air Force to train pilots with all Korean-made planes.
It has used KAI’s KT-1 basic and T-50 advanced trainers for primary and higher-level training, respectively.
A full domestic aircraft lineup will shorten the time and cost of training pilots, decrease maintenance costs and increase the operating rate of the trainers, the official said.
The KT-100 is a remodeled version of the KC-100 Naraon aircraft, a small, single engine, four-seater passenger plane developed by KAI. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2014 to remodel the KC-100 for military use.
KAI said the KT-100 also has voice and video recorders and a system to identify friend or foe.