The World's 4th, 4.5 & 5th Generation Fighters

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South Korea orders KAI F/A-50 light attack fighter prototypes
By Siva Govindasamy



South Korea has asked Korea Aerospace Industries to develop a prototype of a light attack version of its T-50 advanced jet trainer, with a production contract likely to be awarded after the aircraft has been tested by the nation's air force.

Under the 400 billion won ($306 million) contract, KAI will upgrade four T-50s to the F/A-50 standard and deliver them to the South Korean air force by 2012. It then expects the service to order around 60 F/A-50s for delivery from 2013 to replace its ageing Northrop F-5s, and to eventually buy up to 150 of the type.

KAI has been pushing Seoul to finance the F/A-50's development for several years as it wants to keep its T-50 production line open beyond 2012, when the last South Korean aircraft currently under contract will be delivered. Its air force has ordered 82 T-50s, including 50 advanced jet trainers, 22 armed A-50s and 10 for its aerobatics display team. The service could order another 70 trainer and weaponised variants, say sources, and the T-50 is also in contention in several international tenders.

Tenders were issued last year by KAI to suppliers of radar warning receivers, precision-guided bombs, countermeasures dispensers, advanced tactical datalinks and weapons management systems for the F/A-50. Known armaments will include bombs equipped with Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits and Raytheon's AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile.

The F/A-50 is also likely to use an EL/M-2032 radar supplied by Israel's Elta Systems. The radar selection has been a bone of contention with Lockheed Martin, which helped to develop the T-50 and had wanted KAI to use its own APG-67(V)4 on the F/A-50. Seoul had preferred Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems' Vixen 500E active electronically scanned array, but is barred from sharing the T-50's source codes with non-US companies. That led to it choosing the Israeli radar, which will be installed on the F/A-50 by a US company, meeting US government and Lockheed conditions.

KAI and Lockheed are jointly marketing the T-50 outside South Korea, with the aircraft locked in fierce competition with Alenia Aermacchi's M-346 in Greece, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. The companies are also promoting the aircraft in other European and Asian countries with advanced trainer requirements. Industry sources say the F/A-50 will also be offered to countries that require light attack aircraft after 2013.

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Seoul had preferred Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems' Vixen 500E active electronically scanned array, but is barred from sharing the T-50's source codes with non-US companies. That led to it choosing the Israeli radar, which will be installed on the F/A-50 by a US company, meeting US government and Lockheed conditions.

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Titanium said:

This part really intrigue me since reading this report sometime back.

what exactly is the source code of the plane, that needs to be shared when installing different radar??

What is so special in T-50, which cannot be shared with Selex(non-american), but perfectly okay with IAI!!

what will this have implication for LCA, JF-17 etc which don't have their own radar/ intend to have third party radar ??

n

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Titanium said:

I understand that, my original query being what sort of "source code" of the plane needs to be shared with radar vendor??

Why would a UK company be no no, but israeli firm ok!

Thanks

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General Dynamics Awarded Production Contract for A-50 Gun Systems

January 12, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (GDATP), a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a contract by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for production of up to 82 A-50 20mm gun systems.

Manufacturing will be performed at General Dynamics’ Saco, Maine, facility, and the program will be managed by General Dynamics’ Burlington, Vt., facility. S&T Dynamics, LTD of South Korea, the designated Korean Industry Partner (KIP) for the program, will produce the ammunition containers for these weapons systems under a subcontract arrangement with General Dynamics. Deliveries will begin in October 2010.

Steve Vander Kraats, A-50 gun system program manager, said, “The A-50 Gun System was developed by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products specifically for the T/A-50 light trainer/attack aircraft being produced by KAI. The system provides the relatively smaller T/A-50 aircraft with 20mm Gatling gun capabilities comparable to that of larger fighter aircraft.”

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, located in Charlotte, N.C., provides a broad range of system solutions for military and commercial applications. The company designs, develops and produces high-performance armament systems; defensive armor solutions; aerospace components; mobile shelter systems; and is a leading U.S. producer of biological and chemical detection systems. More information about General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products can be found on the Internet at

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General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 91,200 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at

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Poland considers T-50 and Finnish Hawks for trainer deal
By Bartosz Glowacki



Poland hopes to acquire 16 lead-in fighter trainers for delivery from the third quarter of 2010, with the Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50 and Patria-modified BAE Systems Hawk 51 designs in contention.

Finnish-owned Hawks have previously been considered as a temporary solution ahead of Poland's selection of a new advanced jet trainer, but defence minister Bogdan Klich says Patria's upgrade to the type "fulfils the basic requirements of the Polish air force", and is a "serious offer". The aircraft could remain in service until 2025, say air force officials.

President Lech Kaczynski and armed forces chief of general staff Gen Franciszek Gagor visited South Korea last month, and Warsaw is waiting to receive a detailed T-50 offer from KAI. The South Korean aircraft "is the most modern and dedicated to [Lockheed] F-16 pilot training, with a good price", says Klich, adding: "We know Korean partners are very interested in entering the Polish market."

The jet trainer purchase is expected to advance no later than mid-2010 without a formal tender, due to the need to replace PZL Mielec TS-11 Iskras in use at the Polish air force academy in Deblin by 2012.

The air force will also have 28 of its PZL-130 Orlik turboprop trainers modernised to a TC-II standard, featuring a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-25C engine and a new wing, extending their use until at least 2018. Sixteen will receive Garmin avionics for primary training, while 12 will get glass cockpits to prepare students for operations of the F-16. Poland's final three of 48 F-16C/Ds were delivered to Poznan-Krzesiny airbase on 11 December 2008.

Meanwhile, Poland's defence ministry has awarded PZL Mielec a contract worth around 635 million zlotys ($200 million) to supply a further 12 M-28B Bryza transports by 2012, and to deliver a flight simulator and training for 36 personnel at Deblin. Ten of the aircraft will feature new avionics equipment including a Rockwell Collins glass cockpit scheduled to undergo flight testing this year, plus self-defence equipment and radar warning receivers supplied by Denmark's Terma. The other two will be configured for VIP duties.

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Gripen NG takes advantage of the latest ARINC 653 integrated modular avionics standard that provides for the separation of critical functions onboard the aircraft. ARINC 653 sets out new design rules for safety, security and the integration of both common and user-specific capabilities. Most significantly it allows critical and non-flight critical application software to be kept completely apart. With many current avionics systems almost every avionics change forces the user to reverify the entire aircraft each time, to ensure that flight safety functions have not been affected.

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