Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed an executive contract to export 48 FA 50 light attack jets to Poland.
The $3 billion deal is the biggest since KAI began to export T-50 light attack planes. It is the first time KAI has entered the European market.
A ceremony to sign the contract took place at Minsk National Airport in Poland. Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, KAI President Kang Goo-young, Korean Ambassador to Poland Lim Hoon-min, and Administrator Eom Dong-hwan of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) were present.
Under the contract, KAI will initially deliver 12 FA-50s by the end of 2023 and the remaining 36 jets will be shipped after 2025 on a gradual basis.
The FA-50PLs, to be delivered by KAI, based on the Polish air force’s demands, is expected to be an improved version of FA50, which will be outfitted with the existing top specifications.
A view of KAI’s FA-50 aircraft.
It will be souped up an extended flying range through aerial refueling capabilities, an active electronically scanned array and an upgraded air-to-land and air-to-air arsenal.
The FA-50PL can carry out diverse operations, such as light attack, specialized tactics and combat duties.
The aircraft may be highly compatible with F-16s, and it is expected to serve as a mainstay aircraft that will contribute to nurturing combat pilots for the Polish air force.
It is highly compatible with F-16s and is optimized for educational training of 5G fighters, such as F-35s.
Under the deal, KAI plans to build a logistics hub and operate an international flight training school to meet the demand for the training of Europe’s fourth- and fifth generation combat pilots.
KAI and the Polish government plan to form a joint working-level team comprising of Polish companies. They will conduct a market survey in order to establish the logistics hub.
When technologies owned by KAI, its follow-up support capabilities and Polish companies’ manufacturing capabilities are combined, it is forecast to establish a new type of collaboration model.
When the logistics hub is built, it is expected to contribute to not only raising the operational efficiency of FA 50PLs and its working rate, but also revitalizing the Polish aviation industry and job creation.
KAI plans to set up a consultative body for the establishment of an international flight training school in Poland, which will contribute to nurturing both Polish air force pilots and pilots for the whole of Europe.
Under the deal, KAI will make Poland a center to export FA-50s through mutual cooperation, and expand its sales to the whole of Europe.
KAI President Kang said, “We expect to build a strategic partnership that can be sustainable for a long time with Poland.”
KAI aims to explore Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America and the United States by making the most of its exporting to Poland.
President Kang, an Air Force pilot- and experimental flight pilot-turned CEO, flied a T-50 for about 40 minutes to prove the safety and operational capabilities of the homegrown aircraft at Sacheon Airfield on Sept. 8, three days after he was inaugurated.
CEO Kang had a CEOs’ strategic meeting designed to further expand the European market beyond Poland during his recent overseas tour.
Polish President Duda said, “The contract can be made successfully in the shortest time based on deep trust of both countries following my meeting with Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at the NATO summit in Madrid in June. He expressed hope Korea and Poland would jointly enter EU and NATO markets beyond joint cooperation with Poland in the years to come.”
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