【FA-50】韓國空軍的驕傲 FA-50 輕型戰鬥機|在菲律賓表現出色的FA-50戰鬥機的前世今生

What is a country's military strength measured by? As the main indicator of comprehensive national strength competition, let's put aside the software first, only the hardware and military equipment of the army, navy, and air force are enough to make people overwhelmed . When it comes to the majestic scene of the autumn soldiers, the fighter jets , as the vanguard of the air force, undoubtedly occupy an absolutely dominant position. The comprehensive indicators such as combat performance and tactical level have become the main factors to measure the comprehensive strength of the air force. In the field of fighter jets, it can be said that good things are frequently reported. In April 2021, South Korean President Moon Jae-in once said in the "Korea Aerospace Industry Corporation held the first prototype of the new generation fighter KF-21 off- line ceremony", saying that South Korea "has ushered in one of the aviation industry development." Milestone " Because the appearance of the KF-21 fighter jet heralds that the development of South Korean domestic fighter jets has entered a new stage . When it comes to South Korean domestic fighter jets , we have to mention the FA-50 fighter jet independently developed by South Korea. This fighter jet has been in use since October 2014. The first time it was deployed in actual combat in January, it frequently appeared in the military procurement lists of various countries, and quickly entered the Hall of Honor of the Korean Air Force. Today, we will talk about the past and present of the FA-50 fighter. Before the FA-50 came out, South Korea was "the most responsible" The "famous" fighter is undoubtedly the T -50 "Golden Eagle" trainer jointly developed by Korea Aerospace Industries Corporation and Lockheed Martin. At that time, it borrowed a lot from the US's battle-hardened F-16 fighter jets and Taiwan's IDF light fighter jets, which are the fine genes of the "sisters" in the air . In 2004, the first batch of T-50 "Golden Eagle" trainers were assembled in South Korea and then In 2006, it officially joined the South Korean Air Force . In the following 10 years, the T-50 "Golden Eagle" was also frequently purchased because of its excellent performance and relatively low price . Background The T-50 , which integrates American technology, has also become the identification symbol of the non-NATO alliance of the United States. South Korea is also very aware of the times. Under the halo of the T-50 "Golden Eagle" , it quickly launched its improved version in 2012 . The model is our protagonist today, the FA-50 fighter . The FA-50 fighter was transformed into a light fighter independently developed by the Korea Aerospace Industries Corporation under the golden blessing of its predecessor "T-50 Golden Eagle Trainer". It is regarded as the first domestic fighter jet since it was officially commissioned in October 2013. It has been regarded as the "pride of the South Korean Air Force" because it is an improved model, and its main soul still retains the genes of the previous T-50 "Golden Eagle" trainer, such as the two The size of the airframe , the configuration of the cockpit, the avionics and the flight control system are all the same. The improved F The A-50 fighter's elevated canopy is made of stretched acrylic , which provides bulletproof protection for the canopy and a good field of view for the pilot. The biggest difference between the two is that the FA-50 installation is equipped with an improved Israeli Pulse Doppler X-band multi-band Mode radar also has more internal fuel capacity Enhanced avionics Longer radome and tactical data link Pulse Doppler radar Can track 10 targets simultaneously and has a search range of 150 km Provides strong support for timely target detection In addition, the aircraft is also equipped with a radar warning receiver, a cruise missile defense system , and can be equipped with joint direct attack munitions , sensor-detonated weapons, etc. From October 2014, the FA-50 fighter jet announced by the South Korean Air Force conducted air-to-surface missiles for the first time over the eastern seas of the peninsula. As a result of the exercise, the FA-50 fighter jets launched missiles at an altitude of 1.2 kilometers and accurately hit targets 7 kilometers away. This training exercise proved that the FA-50 can achieve precise strikes on land and sea, and all-round targets. The Korea Aerospace Industries Corporation stated that the FA-50 fighter jets Excellent cost-effectiveness High dispatch rate Low maintenance cost Its structure, system and performance are close to the F-16 fighter of the U.S. military Can perform air patrol , airspace control, fire strike and other military tasks Equipped with night vision goggles can effectively perform night missions Also has Improved self- defense capability Let's take a look at the technical and performance data of the FA-50 fighter. 2 personnel. The total length is 12.98 meters , the wingspan is 9.17 meters, and the total height is 4.78 meters. ton The maximum range is 1851 kilometers. Its power system is a general company turbofan engine , which can provide powerful afterburning thrust. The FA-50 is equipped with a Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon and can be mounted with the "Sidewinder" air-to-air missile "Maverick". "Air-to-surface missiles "Jedam" and other precision-guided bombs CBU-97 sensor detonation weapons and 20mm cannons, etc. In addition to being equipped with cannons and air-to-air air-to -surface missiles, it can also be loaded with 5 CB8-58 cluster bombs and 9 Mk82 3 x Mk83 1,000 lb low resistance general purpose bombs , 500 lbs. 3 Mk84 2,000 lb low resistance general purpose bombs , or 9 Mk 20 cluster bombs . There are currently 60 FA-50 fighter jets in the South Korean Air Force. At the same time, South Korea is also targeting the T-50 "Golden Eagle" trainer , which is a good market for export and export. The original purchase and use of T-50 countries will be transformed For potential customers of secondary sales, the FA-50 fighter has indeed shown a good sales prospect under the production and packaging under the premise of such sales target . The loyal fans of the T-50 "Golden Eagle" trainer bear the brunt of the purchase of 16 aircraft in 2011. the india Nicaea followed by the Iraqi Air Force, which chose the T-50 for training pilots and combat needs in 2013, and the Thai Air Force, which purchased the T-50 in 2015. These customers have all paid for the FA -50, an upgraded version of the T-50 trainer . The Philippines invested 2.6 billion yuan to sign a procurement contract with South Korea and received the first two FA-50 fighter jets delivered by South Korea in early 2016, ending the embarrassing history of the Philippine Air Force’s ten years without active fighter jets . The deployment of all 12 FA-50s at the local air base In 2019 , Argentina finally confirmed the purchase of FA-50 fighters after more than ten years of searching, but the final purchase plan was "still dead" due to problems such as the change of the president and the devaluation of the currency . In April 2021, FA-50 also entered the procurement list of light fighters in Malaysia, but whether the bidding can be successful or not has yet to be confirmed . There is not much data available for reference about the actual combat performance of FA-50 fighters. The Philippines in full military deployment January 26, 2017 Two FA-50 fighter jets in the Philippines conducted a nighttime attack on a terrorist hideout in Lanao del Sur province, Mindanao. This was the first combat sortie of the FA-50s flown in July of the same year An FA-50 was involved in an incident of friendly fire during the Battle of Marawi. A bomb fell about 250 meters from the target , killing two Filipino soldiers and injuring 11. The investigation cleared the crew and aircraft of the malfunction. The aircraft was allowed to resume active service in August. On May 23, 2018, the "Maute" group in the Philippines suddenly launched an attack in Marawi, planted the "Islamic State" black flag , and occupied a large part of the city of Marawi on the same day. Philippines Air Force deploys fighter jets and helicopters, including FA-50s, to carry out airstrikes on insurgent-held areasFebruary 2, 2019 Two FA-50 fighter jets dropped eight 250-pound bombs on the freedom fighter base in Bansamoro Islamka, Philippines in response to attacks on Its Walled City of Mount Carmel The bomb attack on Notre Dame Cathedral on June 25, 2020 coincided with the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the Philippines The Philippine Air Force conducted a live-fire exercise off the coast of Palawan This is the first live-fire exercise "Maverick" air-to-air The ground missile was launched from the FA-50 fighter jet to the floating target to demonstrate its anti-ship capability. The FA-50 fighter jet 's outstanding performance in the above military operations and exercises fully met the expectations of the Philippine military and won the Philippine official's appreciation. The FA -50 fighter jet is an attack aircraft derived from a trainer aircraft, although it has the dual purposes of a trainer aircraft and a fighter jet, showing its multi-purpose advantage. Although its main positioning is still used for "attack" , Under the premise of a trainer, the strength of its attack performance is not It is self-evident that it can only be said that fish and bear's paw cannot have both. In the face of increasingly precise military strategy and armament requirements , FA-50 still has a long way to go if it wants to truly realize Korea Aerospace Industries Corporation's initial export vision of 1,000 aircraft. In today's world's rapidly upgrading and iterative fighter jet development process, each generation of fighter jets shoulders an insurmountable responsibility and witnesses the development and evolution of a country's aviation and military strength. For the FA-50 fighter jet, which inherits the name of South Korea's first domestically produced fighter jet Its previous T-50 "Golden Eagle" trainer has been well-known, and it is also regarded as the pride of the country in this life . As for whether it can continue to improve and improve in the future, let us wait and see. This issue 's introduction to the FA-50 fighter is here. You are also welcome to leave a message in the comment area . See you in the next issue