Many of the world’s air forces have recently been looking for new aircraft to replace their aging aircraft fleet. Tensions are growing between some countries, and many of them have decades-old technology in their arsenal. They have several types to choose from, but modern planes are very expensive. South Korea is taking advantage of this, promoting its KAI FA-50 Golden Eagle supersonic light combat aircraft as a cheaper option capable of matching the 4.5 counterparts. generation.
The KAI FA-50 is 1/2 the price and capabilities of the F-16
The South Koreans have already given their FA-50 to several countries – in Europe, Poland is the best-known customer, and now they are trying to break into Thailand as well. TheAtlasNews reports that the Swedish will be his competition there Saab JAS-39E/F Gripen and US Lockheed Martim F-16 Block70/72 Fighting Falcon. The argument of the Asian manufacturer should be mainly the fact that their plane costs 1/2 what the latest version of the F-16, while it is supposed to match its capabilities.
Whether that’s true is a very complicated question, although of course price and, for Thailand, a possible partnership with South Korea will play a role in deciding which aircraft to buy, NationalInterest reported. Nowadays, it is most likely possible describe as an ever-growing regional power. Although it cannot be traced, it is likely that the South Korean offer is an FA-50 Block 20 aircraft, as it is the only one that can be equipped with a modern AESA-type radar. Without it, the F-16 or the Gripen would definitely not be able to compete.
The KAI FA-50 is based on a training aircraft
The FA-50 was developed from the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer, reports Airforce-Technology, and compared to the F-16 fighter thoroughbred, for example, it is smaller – it is 13.14 meters long, while the American counterpart is 15.06 meters. But they also differ in speed – the South Korean reaches Mach 1.5 and the F-16 a significantly higher Mach 2.05, while its pilot can perform turns with the aircraft with an overload of 9g, while with the KAI FA-50 “only” 8.3g.
The South Korean aircraft can carry modern weapons often identical to the F-16, such as air-to-air missiles AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-120 AMRAAM, various types of bombs including guided glide JDAM or KGGB, the Taurus KEPD 350K-2 cruise missile and others, and has and a rapid-fire cannon. However, the carrying capacity of the weapons is 5.4 tons on 7 hangers, according to Wikipedia, while for the F-16 it is 7.7 tons on 11 hangers – the striking power of the Korean aircraft is therefore lower. It will mainly depend on what the Thai Air Force actually requires from its new aircraft.
