TSAMTO, April 16. Egypt is in the final stages of negotiations to conclude a deal with Seoul for the supply of up to 100 FA-50 light combat/training aircraft. The agreement should also include technology transfer.
This was stated by the Egyptian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Khaled Abdelrahman.
As reported by Defenceweb.co.za An official from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said that the acquisition "will advance the Egyptian aviation industry and contribute to the expansion of Cairo's strategic partnership with countries in Africa and the Middle East."
Egypt plans to start by ordering the first batch of 36 FA-50s worth about $1 billion, and the remaining aircraft will be assembled under license at the state-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) facility in Helwan under an agreement dated December 1, 2022.
On the part of the CAMTO, it was reported in early 2021 that the Egyptian Air Force was planning to purchase new basic and advanced flight training aircraft to replace the fleet of obsolete aircraft.
At that time, it was known that the German company Grob Aircraft was negotiating with the Egyptian government regarding the G-120TP turboprop TCB. It was noted that this is a logical step for the Egyptian Air Force, which is well acquainted with the manufacturer of Grob Aircraft, as since the 2000s they have been operating a fleet of 74 G-115s at Bilbais Air Base as part of the 3rd and 5th squadrons of the 101st Training Wing.
The American company Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) offered the A-29 Super Tucano light combat aircraft as a training aircraft, as well as as a replacement for about 50 EMB-312 Tucano attack aircraft acquired by Egypt in the 1980s. These aircraft are also based in Bilbaisa as part of the 83rd 84th and 85th Squadrons of the 201st Training Wing.
The new A-29 Super Tucano was also proposed to replace more than 100 K-8E Karakoram advanced flight training jets at El Minya Airbase as part of the 28th and 29th squadrons of the 201st Training Wing.
The Italian Leonardo group offered the M-346 "Master" jet TCB or its smaller version M-345 to replace the K-8E. Czech Aero Vodochody offered its new TCB L-39NG.
As a result, on December 1, 2022, the Egyptian state-owned company AOI signed an agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries to organize the production of training aircraft in the country.
In a statement released by the AOI on January 16, 2023, it was reported that its chairman Mokhtar Abdel-Latif met with a delegation from the Republic of Korea, which included members of parliament and senior officials from KAI and Hanwha Aerospace. The parties discussed the implementation of the AOI agreement with KAI on "localization of the production technology of a promising training aircraft to meet the needs of the Egyptian Armed Forces and its export to African and Arab countries."
The aircraft will be manufactured at the AOI aviation plant in Helwan, which previously assembled Chinese K-8E training aircraft for the Egyptian Air Force under license. It was reported that in May 2010, when the 120th and last K-8E was delivered, Egypt produced more than 94% of the components for this aircraft.
