| T-50 Golden Eagle | |
|---|---|
| Role | Advanced trainer, multirole fighter |
| Manufacturer | Korea Aerospace Industries |
| First flight | 20 August 2002[1] |
| Introduction | 22 February 2005[2] |
| Status | Active |
| Primary user | Republic of Korea Air Force |
| Number built | 71+ (178 on order in 2011) |
| Unit cost | T-50: US$21 million (2008)[3] TA-50: US$25 million (2011)[4] FA-50: US$30 million (2012)[5] |
The T-50 Golden Eagle is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced trainers and multirole fighters, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries beginning in the late 1990s. The T-50 is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft and one of the world's few supersonic trainers.[6] It took its maiden flight in 2002 and entered active service with the Republic of Korea Air Force in 2005.
The T-50 advanced trainer had been further developed into aerobatic and combat variants, namely T-50B, TA-50, and FA-50. Ten T-50B serve with the South Korean air force's aerobatics team. In 2011, the first squadron of TA-50, T-50's light attack variant, had become operational.[7] The maiden flight of FA-50, T-50's multirole fighter variant with comparable capabilities to KF-16, had also taken place in 2011.[8] First FA-50 production for 60 aircraft will commence in 2013 until 2016.[9]
As of 2011, sixteen TA-50 light attack variants of the family has been exported to Indonesia, and additional export orders are being pursued in countries such as Iraq, Israel, Poland, the Philippines,[10] and Spain.[11] T-50 is also being marketed as a candidate for the T-X program of the United States as the United States Air Force's next-generation advanced trainer.[12] The T-50 is the proposed base for the F-50 next-generation indigenous fighter.[13]
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The T-50 program was originally intended to develop an indigenous trainer aircraft capable of supersonic flight, to train and prepare pilots for the KF-16 and F-15K, replacing trainers such as T-38 and A-37 that were then in service with the Republic of Korea Air Force.[14] Prior South Korean aircraft programs include the propeller-driven KT-1 basic trainer produced by Daewoo Aerospace (now part of KAI), and license-manufactured KF-16.[1] In general, the T-50 series of aircraft closely resembles the KF-16 in configuration.[14]
The mother program, code-named KTX-2, began in 1992,[15] but the Ministry of Finance and Economy suspended KTX-2 in 1995 due to financial constraints.[16] The basic design of the aircraft was set by 1999.[1] The development of the aircraft was funded 13% by Lockheed Martin, 17% by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), and 70% by the government of South Korea.[17]
The aircraft was formally designated as T-50 Golden Eagle in February 2000.[1] The T-50A designation was reserved by the U.S. military to prevent to it from being inadvertently assigned to another aircraft model.[18][19] Final assembly of the first T-50 took place between 15 January and 14 September 2001.[1] The first flight of the T-50 took place in August 2002, and initial operational assessment from 28 July to 14 August 2003.[1] KAI and Lockheed Martin are currently pursuing a joint marketing program for the T-50 variant internationally. The South Korean air force placed a production contract for 25 T-50s in December 2003, with aircraft scheduled to be delivered between 2005 and 2009.[17] Original T-50 are equipped with the AN/PG-67(v)4 radar from Lockheed Martin and it has been selected for the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo of Taiwan.[20]
The program has expanded beyond a trainer concept to include the TA-50 light attack aircraft, as well as the FA-50 multirole fighter comparable to KF-16. The TA-50 variant is a more heavily armed version of the T-50 trainer, intended for lead-in fighter training and light attack roles. The TA-50 is designed to operate as a full-fledged combat platform for precision-guided weapons, air-to-air missiles,[21] and air-to-ground missiles.[22] TA-50 can mount additional utility pods for reconnaissance, targeting assistance, and electronic warfare. Reconnaissance and electronic warfare variants are also being developed designated as RA-50 and EA-50.[23][24]
The FA-50 is the most advanced version of the T-50. It equips a modified Israeli EL/M-2032 pulse-Doppler radar with further Korean-specific augmentations by LIG Nex1,[25] and has more internal fuel capacity, enhanced avionics, a longer radome and a tactical datalink.[26][27] The EL/M-2032 was initially chosen over Lockheed Martin's preferred AN/APG-67(V)4 radar or the SELEX Vixen 500E AESA radar, though other AESA radars such as Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar and Northrop Grumman's Scalable Agile Beam Radar still remain options for future production.[28][29] In December 2008, South Korea awarded a contract to Korea Aerospace Industries to convert four T-50s to FA-50 standards by 2012. The Republic of Korea Air Force has requested to have 60 FA-50 fighters in service by 2013, and plans to acquire a total of 150 FA-50 fighters to replace F-4 Phantom II and Northrop F-5 fighters.[30]
The T-50 is the proposed base for the more advanced F-50 fighter with strengthened wings, AESA radar, more internal fuel, enhanced electronic warfare capability, and a more powerful engine.[13] Wing strengthening is required to support three underwing weapons pylons, as opposed to two underwing pylons on the TA-50 or FA-50.[31] The AESA radar was expected to be RACR, which has 90% commonality with the AESA radar of the Super Hornet, or SABR, both of which are competing for KF-16's AESA radar upgrade program.[32][33] The aircraft was altered to a single-seat configuration to allow more space for internal fuel and electronic warfare equipment.[34][35] The engine could be either EJ200 or F414, upgraded to 20,000 lb or 22,000 lb thrust, which is about 12-25% higher than the F404's thrust.[12][36] The engines are already being offered for the baseline T-50 for future customers. A similar Korean-led international fighter program exists named the KAI KF-X.
The T-50 Golden Eagle design is largely derived from the F-16 Fighting Falcon,[37] and they have many similarities: use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons.[15] KAI's previous engineering experience in license-producing the KF-16 was a starting point for the development of the T-50.[38]
The trainer can carry two pilots in tandem seating. The high-mounted canopy developed by Hankuk Fiber is applied with stretched acrylic, providing the pilots with good visibility, and has been tested to offer the canopy with ballistic protection against 4-lb objects impacting at 400 knots.[39] The altitude limit is 14,600 metres (48,000 ft), and airframe is designed to last 8,000 hours of service.[40] There are seven internal fuel tanks with capacity of 2,655 litres (701 US gal), five in the fuselage and two in the wings. An additional 1,710 litres (452 US gal) of fuel can be carried in the three external fuel tanks.[17] T-50 trainer variants have a paint scheme of white and red, and aerobatic variants white, black, and yellow.[41]
The T-50 Golden Eagle uses a single General Electric F404-102 turbofan engine license-produced by Samsung Techwin,[42] upgraded with a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system jointly developed by General Electric and Korea Aerospace Industries.[43] The engine consists of three-staged fans, seven axial stage arrangement, and an afterburner.[17] The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4-1.5.[40] Its engine produces a maximum of 78.7 kN (17,700 lbf) of thrust with afterburner.[17] The General Electric F414 engine has been suggested as the new engine for the T-50 family, as well as Rolls Royce's EJ200 to allow better compatibility with European air forces.[12] Both engines provide more thrust compared to the F404.
The T-50's central processing unit and its operating system are developed by MDS Technology.[44] The T-50's NEOS avionics operating system is the first and only real-time operating system to be developed by an Asian company, and is given the DO-178B and IEEE POSIX certification.[45][44][46][47] Samsung Thales and LIG Nex1 are the main avionics and electronic warfare equipment developers for T-50 and its variants.[48][49] Other South Korean companies and defense institutes such as DoDAAM Systems, Aeromaster, Intellics, and Korea Institute of Defense Analysis are responsible for the aircraft's secondary avionics and embedded systems, including store management computers,[50] avionics testing equipment,[51] flight data recorders,[52] portable maintenance aids,[53] data analysis software,[54] post-flight data processing system,[55] aircraft structure and engine management software,[56][57] mission computer,[58] and mission planning and support system.[58]
Hanwha supplies the mechanical parts for the flight control system,[59] and WIA supplies the undercarriage.[60] The T-50 is equipped with a Honeywell H-764G embedded global positioning/inertial navigation system and HG9550 radar altimeter.[17] The aircraft is the first trainer to feature the digital fly-by-wire control interface (triple redundant).[40] The cockpit panels, switches, and joysticks are produced by South Korea's FirsTec and Sungjin Techwin, head-up display by DoDaaM Systems, and multi-function display by Samsung Thales.[61][62][63][58] Other South Korean subcontractors such as Elemech, Dawin Friction, and Withus cooperate in T-50 components production.[64]
TA-50 mounts a General Dynamics A-50 20 mm cannon internally behind the cockpit.[17][37][65] The cannon is a three-barreled version of the M61 Vulcan, with 205 rounds of linkless ammunition. AIM-9 Sidewinders can be attached at each of the wingtip rails, and additional weapons can be mounted to underwing hardpoints.[17] Compatible air-to-surface weapons include the AGM-65 Maverick missile, Hydra 70 and LOGIR rocket launchers, CBU-58 and Mk-20 cluster bombs, and Mk-82, −83, and −84 general purpose bombs.[1]
FA-50 can be externally fitted with Rafael's Sky Shield or LIG Nex1's ALQ-200K ECM pods, Sniper or LITENING targeting pods, and Condor 2 reconnaissance pods to further improve the fighter's electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and targeting capabilities.[66][67] Other improved weapon systems over TA-50 include SPICE multifunctional guidance kits,[68] Textron CBU-97/105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon with WCMD tail kits, JDAM, and JDAM-ER for more comprehensive air-to-ground operations, and AIM-120 missiles for BVR air-to-air operations.[69] FA-50 has provisions for, but does not yet integrate, Python and Derby missiles, also produced by Rafael, and other anti-ship missiles, stand-off weapons, and sensors to be domestically developed by Korea.[70][71][72]
The T-50 was competing for a Polish Air Force order for 16 aircraft with ex-Finnish Air Force BAE Hawk 51s, refurbished by the Finnish defence company, Patria.[73] In 2010 a new tender for advanced jet trainer and lead-in fighter trainer aircraft was issued. Competing aircraft include the T-50P, M-346, and Hawk T2/128. In 2011, BAE announced that it had withdrawn from the contest, leaving M-346 and T-50P as its remaining two contenders.[74] The winner of this competition is planned to begin replacing the PZL TS-11 Iskra by 2013.[75]
Indonesia had been considering the T-50 to replace the BAE Hawk and A-4 Skyhawk as the T-50 had excellent interoperability with the current Indonesian F-16s.[76] In 2010, Indonesia announced that T-50 was one of three candidates for its advanced jet trainer requirement, along with Yak-130 and L-159. Indonesia planned to buy 16 of these advanced trainer aircraft.[77] In May 2011, Indonesia signed a contract to order 16 TA-50 for $400 million. The aircraft will feature weapons pylons and gun modules, enabling light attack capabilities.[4]
Iraq was negotiating the acquisition of T-50 trainer jets, having first publicly expressed official interest during the Korea-Iraq summit in Seoul on 24 February 2009.[78] In April 2010, Iraq has reopened the jet lead-in fighter-trainer competition for 24 aircraft, in which TA-50 will compete.[79]
Israel has been evaluating the T-50 as a possible replacement for its Douglas TA-4H Skyhawk trainers since 2003.[80]
The Philippines is looking for six light attack jets as part of its emergency plan to boost maritime patrol capability.[10] TA-50 is one of the contenders along with M-346.
Singapore evaluated the T-50 against the Italian Alenia Aermacchi M-346 and the BAE Hawk for a $500 million trainer acquisition program contract for 12–16 aircraft.[81] The Singapore Ministry of Defense eventually selected the M-346 aircraft ahead of T-50 and BAE Hawk in July 2010.[82]
The United Arab Emirates is seeking 35–40 fighter-trainers. In February 2009, UAE selected the M-346 over the T-50.[83] But in January 2010, UAE reopened the trainer contest.[84] In 2011, it was confirmed that T-50 is still competing in UAE.[85]
In the United States, South Korea will attempt to trade T-50s for F-35s, assuming that it can find an American need for such an aircraft.[86] T-50 is one of the contenders for the US Air Force's T-X program, with an export opportunity for up to 300 to 1000 aircraft, which is about $6 billion to $20 billion at 2008 flyaway cost.[12] A possible reciprocal sale of F-35 to Korea will be 60 aircraft, valued at $8 billion.
Data from Korea Aerospace,[92] Lockheed Martin[93]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
T-50 Trainer:
FA-50 Fighter:
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