Indonesia - T-50 Golden Eagle
The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle,formerly known as the KTX-2, jet trainer and light attack aircraft is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced trainers and multirole light fighters, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with the American aerospace company Lockheed Martin. The T-50 is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft and one of the world's few supersonic trainers.
Development began in the late 1990s, and its maiden flight occurred in 2002. The aircraft entered active service with the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) in 2005.The aircraft was developed in the T-50A advanced trainer and T-50B lead in fighter trainer versions.
In early 2011 it was reported that Indonesia had decided to purchase a squadron of 16 South Korean-made supersonic T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets (The Jakarta Post, 14 April 2011). The $400 million deal with Indonesia would see Korea sell 16 T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jets, jointly built by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin of the United States. But this deal apparently was not concluded. Indonesia wanted to exchange its medium transport CN-235 airplanes with South Korean T-50 Golden Eagle jet trainers in an attempt to promote local products overseas and boost cooperation between the two countries. The Republic of Koreas Air Force (ROKAF) purchased 20 CN-235 aircraft, 12 of which were built by CASA in Spain and the remaining eight by Dirgantara Indonesia.
On 09 September 2011 Indonesia and South Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen defense bilateral cooperation. Indonesia was also exploring possibilities to buy T-50 jet fighters from South Korea, while South Korea to buy CN-235 from Indonesia. South Korean Minister Kim Kwan-jin was scheduled to speak in a seminar on defense industry at the Indonesian defense ministry office. Indonesia was expected to pick South Korea as the preferred negotiator for its planned purchase of an advanced trainer jet. It would mark a major breakthrough in Seoul`s efforts to export the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jet.
In early 2014, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense first received 16 units of the T-50i Golden Eagle lead-in fighter training (LIFT) fighter aircraft from South Korea's KAI as the aircraft manufacturer. The procurement of the T-50i aircraft is an effort by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense to meet strategic needs for the Indonesian Air Force. Two Indonesian pilots of T-50 supersonic trainer jets, which the KAI had built, fell to their death during an airshow 20 December 2015. T-50i Golden Eagle fell and shattered near the Air Force Academy (AAU) Yogyakarta. The plane was carrying out aerobatic maneuvers. The Indonesian government said at that time that the aircraft were brand new and the pilots were veterans, claiming that the reason for the fall should be found out along with KAI to be involved in the investigation. The KAI sold 16 T-50 trainer jets to the East Asian country and completed their deployment there in 2014. The trainer jets also crashed two times in South Korea and have killed three pilots, too, since its first deployment in 2005.
The Ministry of Defense (Kemhan) confirmed that it was in the process of procuring six units of Lead-In Fighter Training (LIFT) aircraft of the T-50i Golden Eagle type from South Korea. "This is the second procurement contract, and a continuation of the cooperation with the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI)," said Head of Public Relations Bureau of the Ministry of Defense General Secretariat, Marsma TNI Penny Radjendra in a press release 22 July 2021. The value of the agreement is estimated to reach 240 million US dollars. Under the agreement, KAI would supply six T-50 advanced trainer jets to the Indonesian Air Force from 16 December 2021 to 30 October 2024.
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