Source: KAI
Source: KAI
Source: KAI
Source: Greg Waldron/FlightGlobal
KAI had a contract with Lockheed under which two Sniper pods were provided for flight and ground testing in October 2020. Both pods were returned after the work.
Apparently the work went well, and no issues are foreseen in gaining the airworthiness certificate. Images posted by KAI show the Sniper pod mounted on the centreline station of a T-50 testbed – the FA-50 is the most advanced variant of the T-50 advanced jet trainer.
Sniper pod integration aboard the FA-50 has long been an objective for KAI. At the Seoul ADEX show in October 2019, the company told FlightGlobal that the integration would take place by the end of 2020.
S Korean KF-X Jet Prototype Advances amidst Indonesian Uncertainty Defenseworld.net News Analysis 10092
KF-X jet final assembly. DAPA image
South Korea’s KF-X fighter jet’s prototype will be released publicly before the first half of 2021 even as reports emerge over possible withdrawal of Indonesia which has taken a 20% partnership in the project.
Employees of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) are currently assembling the first prototype in the final assembly building of the headquarters in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, according to a report in the Seoul Economic Daily published today.
The SEDaily report carried an image of a fully assembled aircraft to which engineers can be seen putting finishing touches.