Thailand orders four T-50 trainers

The Royal Thai Air Force has ordered four Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)/Lockheed Martin T-50TH supersonic trainers, with delivery reported to be by 2018. The contract was confirmed in a Facebook post from KAI, although no more details have as yet been disclosed by the company or Lockheed.

Media reports in South Korea claim that the aircraft will be delivered by 2018, and that there are talks for more orders totalling 24 aircraft further down the line.

Valued at $110m, the deal is set to make Thailand the fourth export customer for the T-50, with the Indonesian Air Force having 16 in service and the Iraqi Air Force 24, according to Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer database.

The Philippine Air Force, meanwhile, has 12 armed FA-50 examples on order, while the Republic of Korea Air Force also operates the trainer type, with 88 in service and 17 more on order.

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Thailand currently operates 36 Aero Vodochody L-39 jet trainers. It was announced in 2014 that funds had been allocated to replace these, which are nearing obsolescence, with an initial four new aircraft.

Others bids are understood to have been made by manufacturers in Italy, Russia and the USA, with the Chinese Hongdu L-15 having been considered one of the favourites for a deal until the T-50 selection.