KAI T-50 Golden Eagle

The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle (골든이글) is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced trainers and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with 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 T-50 has been further developed into aerobatic and combat variants, namely T-50B, TA-50, and FA-50. The F-50 single-seat multirole fighter variant was considered. The T-50B serves with the South Korean air force's aerobatics team. The TA-50 light attack variant has been ordered by Indonesia. The Philippines ordered 12 units of the FA-50 variant. The T-50A is being marketed as a candidate for the United States Air Force's next-generation T-X trainer program. Thailand ordered 4 units of the T-50 advanced trainer variant.

Variants

 * T-50: Advanced trainer version.
 * T-50I: Version of the T-50 for Indonesian Air Force.
 * T-50TH: Version of the T-50 for Royal Thai Air Force.
 * T-50B: Aerobatic specialized T-50 version for Republic of Korea Air Force's aerobatic display team, the Black Eagles.
 * TA-50: Lead-in fighter trainer and light attack version.
 * FA-50: Light attack version, originally named A-50. A prototype from a converted T-50 first flew in 2011.
 * T-50AFG: Version of the FA-50 for the Afghan Air Force
 * T-50IR: Version of the FA-50 for the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
 * FA-50PH: Version of the FA-50 for the Philippine Air Force.
 * T-50A: Candidate for the US Air Force T-X program, based on the FA-50.
 * F-50: A single seat multirole fighter variant that was considered but was canceled in favor of the KF-X.

Users

 * Afghanistan
 * Afghan Air Force - 24 x FA-50AFG
 * Indonesia
 * Indonesian Air Force - 16 x T-50I
 * Iran
 * Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force - 24 x T-50IR
 * Philippines
 * Philippine Air Force - 12 x FA-50PH + 12 more on order
 * South Korea
 * Republic of Korea Air Force - 50 x T-50, 10 x T-50B, 22 x TA-50, 60 x FA-50
 * Spain
 * Spanish Air Force - 50 x T-50
 * Thailand
 * Royal Thai Air Force - 12 x T-50TH

Related Development

 * AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo
 * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
 * Mitsubishi F-2 Viper Zero
 * Lockheed Martin F-16I Sufa
 * Lockheed Martin CF-16K Sea Viper

Comparable Aircraft

 * Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master
 * Hongdu L-15 Falcon
 * Yakovlev Yak-130