Peruvian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea del Perú - FAP) receives first two of 20 KAI KT-1P trainers

Photo: Presidencia Perú

Translated from spanish
Since the Italian Caproni were assembled in the '30s, an aircraft is not riding in Peru. More than 80 years later, Maintenance Service Air Force of Peru (Seman), pursuant to an agreement with the South Korean state-owned Korean Aircraft Industry (KAI), coupled two aircraft training KT-1P.The machines are part of a batch of 20 units purchased the Executive through the modality of government to government for more than $ 150 million amount.Although its primary function is instruction and training, aircraft KT-1P is equipped to perform certain actions of attack, so its design includes five points to provide equipment and weapons.

The first two units were presented in the Las Palmas Air Base (Furrow), in a ceremony that led the head of state , Ollanta Humala, accompanied by Defense Minister Peter Cateriano, and the president of the company KAI, Ha Sung Yong.Humala stressed that Peru-South Korean co-production of the KT-1 aircraft is part of the National Plan for Productive Diversification and represents a new form of procurement of equipment for the defense because the officers and technicians are able to participate in the process of co-production .For its part, the general commander of the PAF, Air Force General Jaime Figueroa, said the KT-1P will be useful for drug and counter-terrorism operations in the Valley of the Apurimac River, Ene and Mantaro (Vraem), where walkers and drug traffickers engaged in the production of cocaine. "The aircraft can be used as tactical air support patrols deployed in the Vraem" said Jaime Figueroa.

As part of the contract with KAI six PAF pilots were trained in South Korea to fly the KT-1P. They now instruct their peers in managing the machine.It is estimated that by December this year will be assembled two aircraft KT-1P and delivery of 20 units will be completed November 2016.The KT-1P were selected through a tender process in 2012 to replace the Brazilian Tucano aircraft that had completed 25 years of life.South Korean aircraft will serve to overcome the shortage of instructional units facing the FAP long.