On June 7, 2023, Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak took part in the official roll-out ceremony of the first FA-50GF Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft built for Poland at the South Korean aircraft corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon.
The official roll-out ceremony of the first FA-50GF Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft built for the Polish Air Force (tail number "5002") at the South Korean Aircraft Corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, 07.06.2023 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland
In fact, this first officially presented sample FA-50GF (tail number "5002") was completed and pumped out at the KAI enterprise back in February. At the ceremony on June 7, three ready-made aircraft (with tail numbers "5002", "5003" and "5005") were demonstrated out of 12 FA-50GF (Gap Filler - "transitional") aircraft ordered by Poland, which in their design are almost similar to the FA-50 Block 10 aircraft supplied by the South Korean Air Force and in fact They are Block 10 aircraft, originally built in Sacheon for the South Korean side. The first two FA-50GF should be delivered to Poland at the 23rd Tactical Airbase in Minsk-Mazowiecki at the end of July, and the delivery of the remaining ten FA-50GF machines is planned by the end of 2023.
The Polish Defense Minister said at the ceremony: "It should be emphasized that this is a very good Polish-Korean cooperation - it is not only an agreement on the purchase of aircraft, but also a package of training, logistics and simulators. We are in the process of negotiations on the construction of a service center in Poland based on cooperation between Korea Aerospace Industries and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa. Thanks to this, we will be able to train pilots on the basis of our own training base and service the FA-50 in Poland. The purchase of the FA-50 is part of a larger project - the creation of the Polish armed forces, whose potential will be able to deter the aggressor. Cooperation with the Republic of Korea makes a significant contribution to strengthening Poland's security."
Recall that on September 16, 2022, Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak approved two contracts with KAI for the purchase by Poland of a total of 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft. The first contract worth 3.3 billion zlotys ($700 million) provides for the supply of twelve FA-50GF (Block 10) aircraft from KAI, and the second contract worth about 15.6 billion zlotys ($2.3 billion) provides 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.
By the end of 2023, 12 GA-50GF vehicles should be equipped with the 23rd Tactical Airbase of the Polish Air Force to replace MiG-29 fighters in its composition, which were already transferred by the Polish side to Ukraine earlier this year.
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-50GF are armed with 20 mm cannons, Sidewinder and Maverick missiles and several types of bombs), as well as Raytheon PhantomStrike radar with AFAR, upgraded avionics and the ability to refuel in the air. It is expected that in the future the FA-50GF 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 was started at the end of 2022.
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). Also in 2023, Malaysia signed a contract for the purchase of 18 FA-50 Block 20 aircraft.
The official roll-out ceremony of the first FA-50GF Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft built for the Polish Air Force (tail number "5002") at the South Korean Aircraft Corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, 07.06.2023 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland
The first three FA-50GF Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft built for the Polish Air Force (tail numbers "5002", "5003" and "5005") at the enterprise of the South Korean aircraft Corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, 07.06.2023 (c) the Ministry of National Defense of Poland