By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has failed to win a contract to supply the T-50 supersonic trainer to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), industry officials here said Thursday.
The T-50 was defeated by Italy's M-346 in a trainer jet acquisition deal by the UAE, which has sent warning signals to the country's ongoing tenders in other nations, such as Singapore and Poland, the officials said.
At the International Defense Exhibition and Conferences (IDEX) held in Abu Dhabi Feb. 22-26, the UAE announced after four years of evaluation and performance trials that it had picked 48 M-346s for its advanced jet trainers over the T-50 Golden Eagles built by KAI, and Lockheed Martin of the United States.
``Alenia Aermacchi will supply the UAE air force and air defense with 48 aircraft to cover the requirements of lead and combat air support,'' said Maj. Gen. Obaid al-Ketbi, chairman of the IDEX defense exhibition. Ketibi did not specify the value of the deal, but reports said it would be worth some $1.3 billion.
South Korea has made the utmost efforts to make its first overseas sale of the T-50, tying the success of the supersonic trainer jet to becoming a major arms exporter and reviving the economy.
But thus far, the joint international marketing of the trainer by KAI and Lockheed has produced no tangible results.
An official of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in Seoul said, ``It's too early to say sales of T-50s have been stalled, given it normally takes about 10 years to sell new aircraft to other nations.''
The single-engine jet 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 Joint Strike Fighter.
The $25-million jet has a top speed of Mach 1.4 and an operational range of 1,851 kilometers.
The T-50 also is competing with the M-346 ― again ― for a $500 million deal in Singapore.
South Korea is recently promoting a sale to Poland. Sources say Warsaw wants to acquire 16 lead-in fighter trainers to replace its PZL TS-11 Iskra trainers and is considering either T-50s or upgraded versions of Finland's surplus Hawk trainers.