Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and the Malaysian Ministry of Defense have signed a contract for 18 KAI FA-50 light fighter jets.
The aircraft was selected during the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) light combat aircraft (LCA) tender, where it competed against Indian¾«¶«Ó°Òµ HAL Tejas, Turkey¾«¶«Ó°Òµ TAI Hurjet, China¾«¶«Ó°Òµ Catic L-15, Italy¾«¶«Ó°Òµ Leonardo M-346 and Russia¾«¶«Ó°Òµ MiG-35.
Earlier reports indicated that the Pakistani-Chinese JF-17 Thunder, the United States-made Boeing T-7A red Hawk, the Czech Aero Vodochy L-39N and the Russian Yakovlev Yak-130 were also considered but did not participate in the competition. Â
The 1.2 trillion-won ($920 million) deal is set to see the aircraft modified with aerial refueling equipment and extensive weaponry upgrades, enabling the jet to carry a range of smart munitions and targeting pods.
The first aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by 2026, , adding that with this deal KAI has now sold 222 aircraft based on the T-50 advanced trainer platform, including FA-50 fighter jets.
Besides the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF), which operates 60 T-50s and FA-50s, the jet has also been purchased by Indonesia, Iraq, the Philippines and Thailand.
In July 2022 Poland became the largest foreign customer of the FA-50, ordering 48 jets that will reportedly start to be delivered in mid-2023. Â
The bulk of the RMAF¾«¶«Ó°Òµ fighter jet fleet is currently composed of Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter jets. Malaysia also operates a small number of Boeing F/A-18D Hornet jets and BAE Hawk trainers that were modified to carry out combat missions.
