Egypt Airshow: Produced in Egypt! Local strategy meets Korean ambitions

There are reports that there is a need for about 100. That would tally with the EAF’s fleet of K-8E Karakorams which are used by the EAF Air Force Academy at Bilbeis to train fighter pilots.

There are thought to be around 90 K-8Es still in the inventory, but the fleet’s Motor Sich AI-25TL turbofan engine is suffering from a lack of spare parts because of the war in Ukraine. Working with KAI might be one solution but any agreement would surely include the transfer of technology.

AOI has previously license built around 120 Hongdu K-8E Korakoram jet trainers, between 2008 and 2010, that can also be used for light attack. In its January 2023 statement, AOI said that top company officials including chairman Mokhtar Abdel-Latif had held discussions with the Korean delegation, that included their counterparts from KAI and Hanwha Aerospace.

At the centre of discussions was not surprisingly technology transfer and localization of manufacturing the advanced jet trainer to meet EAF requirements. Working with new advanced technologies the T-50/FA-50 would bring, could certainly catapault the Egyptian aerospace industry into the 21st Century.

AOI’s Aircraft Factory also overhauls the Chinese jets. In the past, 30 Chinese ASN-209 UAVs have been assembled for tactical reconnaissance.

The company has aspirations to overhaul newer generation aircraft that have been delivered in recent years, like the Dassault Rafale, RAC MiG-29M or even upgrade the Lockheed Martin F-16. AOI certainly has ambitions to increase its work portfolio and working with KAI would help that.

The FA-50 has been an export success for KAI which it launched with US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin with Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand all flying them in Asia Pacific. Poland has also bought up to 48 FA-50GF/PL light attack aircraft, with deliveries starting last year.

In May South Korea announced a plan to fund the development of a single-seat Variant of the FA-50, that would see the current design’s rear seat replaced with a 300-gallon auxiliary fuel tank to increase the light attack jet’s operational radius by 30%. The Korean government is also looking for investors in its new fifth-gen KF-21 Boramae, and Egypt could show interest if the funding permits.