Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) officials are confident of winning
the Philippine Air Force's (PAF's) competition for a light-attack
trainer but are playing down expectations of a quick decision.
A
T-50 variant is competing with five other platforms to supply a
jet-powered light-attack/trainer aircraft to Manila: AleniaAermacchi's
M-346; BAE Systems' Hawk; Yakovlev's Yak-130; Aero Vodochody's L-159;
and AMX International's AMX.
"We have been told that we are
leading the competition but that no decision has been made yet," Sky
Lee, T-50 senior marketing manager for Asia-Pacific and South American,
told IHS Jane's at the Farnborough Airshow on 10 July.
The
Republic of Korea Air Force's Black Eagles aerobatic team, which flies
T-50Bs, made its European debut at a number of airshows in the UK,
including Farnborough.
If Manila selects the T-50 it will become
the second international customer for the platform after Indonesia,
which in 2011 agreed to buy 16 T/A-50s: the light attack/lead-in fighter
trainer variant of the aircraft. Reports from the Philippines have led
to some confusion over which variant of the aircraft was on offer: as
well as the standard unarmed T-50 trainer, KAI offers the T/A-50 and
F/A-50, which both feature an Elta EL/M-2032 fire-control radar provided
by South Korean manufacturer LigNex.
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James Hardy | Janes.Com | July 13, 2012 | Article Link
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