Yonhap
The leaders of the Philippines and Brunei on Friday took a look at a South Korean indigenous fighter jet specially displayed for them at an air base in this southeastern port city, the Air Force said. President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines and Brunei's leader Hassanal Bolkiah were briefed on the FA-50's capacity ahead of their departure from Busan on Friday, it said.
The visit was made at the request of the two leaders, military officers said. For the occasion, the light fighter plane flew from an air base in Wonju, some 132 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Thursday.
The FA-50 is a light attack variant of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer that was co-developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin. It is the most advanced variant of the T-50 family operated by the South Korean Air Force.
The two leaders are among 10 political leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who visited Busan to attend a two-day commemorative summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye that was wrapped up earlier in the day.In March, South Korea signed a US$420 million contract to export 12 FA-50 fighter jets to the Philippines under a government-to-government deal as part of their moves to expand defense cooperation.
The contract is widely expected to boost the KAI's overseas bid for T-50 family jets, following deals with Iraq in December and Indonesia in 2011.For Brunei, its top envoy to Seoul showed an interest in the plane last month when he visited the headquarters of KAI in Sacheon, about 437 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on the occasion of a foreign ministry event for foreign ambassadors in Seoul, according to sources.KAI is currently competing with rivals to win Peru's next generation light attack aircraft competition by offering its FA-50 supersonic jets.
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