On September 16, 2022, at the 23rd Tactical Airbase of the Polish Air Force in Minsk-Mazowiecki, in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda, Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak approved contracts with the South Korean corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the purchase of 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft by Poland. Two contracts were approved: the first worth 3.3 billion zlotys ($700 million) for the supply of twelve FA-50 Block 10 aircraft from KAI, and the second worth about 15.6 billion zlotys ($2.3 billion) for the supply of 36 light fighters in a modified version of the FA-50PL from KAI. Both contracts also include logistics, training and technical support packages.
Approval by Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak of contracts with the South Korean corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the purchase of 48 KAI FA-50 light combat aircraft by Poland. Minsk-Mazowiecki (Poland), 16.09.2022 (c) Ministry of National Defense of PolandThe first 12 FA-50 Block 10 aircraft in a configuration similar to that ordered by the South Korean Air Force will be delivered to Poland in the second half of 2023, These machines will be supplied to the 23rd Tactical Airbase in Minsk-Mazowiecki, that is, the part where contracts were signed, and will replace MiG-29 fighters in its composition.
Deliveries of 36 aircraft in the FA-50PL modification, which will be created in accordance with additional requirements imposed by the Polish Air Force and will be close to the FA-50 Block 20 version, will begin in 2025 and will be completed by the end of 2028. These aircraft will finally replace the remaining MiG-29 fighters and Su-22M4 and Su-22UM3K fighter-bombers in the Polish Air Force. The FA-50PL variant should have a much richer set of weapons (the FA-50 Block 10 will be armed with 20 mm cannons, Sidewinder and Maverick missiles and several types of bombs), as well as radar with AFAR, upgraded avionics and the ability to refuel in the air. It is expected that in the future the FA-50 Block 10 aircraft will be modified into the FA-50PL variant.
The agreements concluded by Poland with the South Korean side include a training package (including the supply of ground simulators), training of pilots and ground personnel, as well as a logistics package (including spare parts and consumables). The training of Polish personnel for FA-50 aircraft in South Korea will begin in November. Within the framework of the Polish-South Korean cooperation, a service center for FA-50 aircraft will also be created in Poland on the basis of a joint venture between KAI and the Polish group Rzą Grupą Zbrojeniową.
Speaking at the ceremony, Polish President Andrzej Duda said: "This is an extremely important moment in the history of the Polish armed forces. The beginning of the end of the presence of post-Soviet aviation in the Air Force begins. The implementation of the FA-50 aircraft implementation program in the Polish Army will completely abandon the MiG-29 and Su-22 aircraft in the Polish Army. Polish military aviation will use only F-16, F-35 and FA-50 aircraft."
The FA-50 aircraft is a modification of a light fighter / combat training aircraft, created on the basis of the famous KAI T-50 Golden Eagle combat training aircraft (developed at one time with the participation of the American corporation Lockheed Martin). Poland became the fifth and largest foreign customer of the T-50 /FA-50 family of aircraft previously purchased by Iraq (24 aircraft of the T-50IQ variant, actually analogues of the FA-50), Indonesia (22 T-50i), the Philippines (12 FA-50PH) and Thailand (14 T-50TH). The South Korean Air Force has received and contracted a total of 142 aircraft of the T-50 family (50 T-50, 10 T-50B, 22 TA-50 and 60 FA-50).
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