T-50 Makes Final Two for UAE Jet Bid
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle jet trainer is vying with Italy's Aermacchi M-346 for a $1 billion acquisition project from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the last phase of competition, a news report said Thursday.
The British BAE Systems' Hawk 128 was previously in the reckoning, but has been ousted from the contest to supply the UAE Air Force with between 35 and 40 aircraft, according to the U.S. Defense News.
The Hawk trainer failed to meet the UAE Air Force and Air Defense's fast-jet training requirements, said the weekly newspaper.
A decision on the winning aircraft is expected this year, possibly by the end of an air show in Dubai scheduled for Nov. 11-15.
Developed by the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the T-50 is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft and the world's only high-performance, supersonic trainer in production today.
KAI is the prime contractor for the T-50 and the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin is the principal subcontractor, assisting with development and international marketing.
The single-engine trainer features a variety of technological advances, including digital flight controls and a modern ground-based training system, which helps new pilots smoothly transition into advanced fighters such as the F-16 and the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
KAI officials expect T-50 variants will secure about 30 percent of the share of the global trainer market, or 1,100 of 3,300 trainer needs, within 25 years from now.
Potential consumers for T-50s include the United States, Singapore and Greece, they said.