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T-50 Golden Eagle
| T-50 Golden Eagle | |
|---|---|
| Type | Advanced trainer Light attack |
| Manufacturer | Korean Aerospace Industries Lockheed Martin |
| Maiden flight | 20 August 2002[1] |
| Introduced | 22 February 2005[2] |
| Status | Operational |
| Primary user | Republic of Korea Air Force |
| Number built | 100+[1][3] |
| Unit cost | US$22 million[4] |
The T-50 Golden Eagle is an early 21st century Korean-American supersonic trainer. It is developed by Korean Aerospace Industries in conjunction with Lockheed Martin.[5] The program includes the A-50, or T-50 LIFT, as a light attack aircraft variant.[1]
Although the U.S. military currently has no plans to procure this aircraft, the official T-50A MDS designator was reserved for the Golden Eagle so that it wouldn't be inadvertently assigned to another aircraft model.[6]
Contents
Development
The T/A-50 program is the replacement for a variety of trainer and light attack aircraft. This includes the T-38 and F-5B in training and the CAS Cessna A-37B; in service with the South Korean Air Force.[citation needed] The program was origially intended to develop an indigenous trainer aircraft capable of supersonic flight in order to train and prepare pilots for the KF-16s.[7] The T-50 makes South Korea the 12th nation to produce a complete jet fighter aircraft.[8] Some of the South-Korean aircraft include the propeller-driven KT-1 basic trainer produced by Samsung Aerospace (now part of KAI), and license-manufactured KF-16s. Most of the core systems and technology were provided by Lockheed Martin, however, and in general the T/A-50 is said to closely resemble the KF-16 configuration.[7]
The development of the aircraft was funded 13% by Lockheed Martin, 17% by Korea Aerospace Industries, and 70% by the government of South Korea.[9] KAI and Lockheed Martin are currently pursuing a joint marketing program for the T-50 variant internationally.
The mother program, code-named KTX-2, began in 1992,[3] but the Ministry of Finance and Economy suspended KTX-2 in 1995 due to financial matters.[10] with the initial design of the aircraft, in 1999. It was renamed T-50 Golden Eagle in February 2000, with the final assembly of the first T-50 taking place between 15 January, 2001.[citation needed] The first flight of the T-50 took place in August 2002, and initial operational assessment from July 28 to August 14, 2003.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
Design
The T-50 Golden Eagle design is mainly derived from the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon,[11] and they are similar in their economic use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons. The program initially focused on developing trainer jets for the F-16 pilots,[3] since many air forces around the world, including the Republic of Korea Air Force, use the F-16 as main constituents of their fighter population.
The T-50 is equipped with a Honeywell H-764G embedded global positioning/inertial navigation system and HG9550 radar altimeter.[9] The A-50 variant uses APG-67 radar from Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is the first trainer to feature the digital fly-by-wire control interface (triple redundant).[12] The aircraft can carry up to two pilots, and the high-mounted canopy and the tandem seating allow the pilots superior visibility, vital to successful lock-on of enemy targets. The cockpit holds the On Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS).[12]
The altitude limit is 48,000 ft, and the airframe is designed to last 8,000 hours of service.[12] There are seven internal fuel tanks with capacity of 2,655 litres, five in the fuselage and two in the wings.[9] An additional 1,710 litres of fuel can be carried in the three external fuel tanks.[9]
The T-50 Golden Eagle uses a single General Electric F404 turbofan engine with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The engine consists of three-staged fans, seven axial stage arrangement, and an afterburner.[9] The aircraft can supercruise at the speed of Mach 1.05, and with maximum 78.7 kN (17,700 lbs) of thrust with the afterburner,[9] and has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4.[12][4]
Weapon systems
A 20 mm General Dynamics M61 Vulcan cannon[11] with 205 rounds of linkless linear feed can be mounted internally behind the cockpit.[9] An AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missile can be attached at each of the wingtip rails, and more missiles can be carried on the underwing hardpoints.[9] Compatible air-to-surface weapons include the AGM-65 Maverick missile, LAU-3 and LAU-68 rocket launchers, CBU-58 and Mk-20 cluster bombs, and Mk-82, -83, and -84 general purpose bombs.[1] Three external fuel tanks can also be carried.[1]
Specifications
Template:Aircraft specification
See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Designation sequence
Related lists
See also
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Flug Revue
- ↑ ThomasNet news on T-50
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Aeroflight article on T-50
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 AIN Online article on T-50
- ↑ Korea, US to confer on surveillance plan sales
- ↑ Designation-Systems.Net MDS Designators
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Defense Industry Daily 04/05 article on T-50
- ↑ Empas News article
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Airforce Technology article
- ↑ Global Security article on KTX-2 program
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 VectorSite: F-16 Derivatives: Ching Kuo / F-2 / Golden Eagle
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Global Security review
External links
- Korean KAI T-50 page in English
- Deagel on T-50
- Lockheed Martin photo gallery
- "F/A-50 light combat aircraft project still on hold", Flight International, 22 October 2007.
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
ko:T-50 골든이글 id:T-50 Golden Eagle ja:T-50 (練習機) tr:T-50 Golden Eagle vi:T-50 Golden Eagle zh:T-50金鷹式高級教練機
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "T-50 Golden Eagle". |
