Two T-50i Golden Eagle training fighters in aerobatic color scheme out of 16 aircraft ordered by the Defense Ministry from the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) Sept. 11 arrived at Iswahyudi Air Force Base in Madiun, East Java. The ministry ordered the aircraft to strengthen Indonesia’s primary weapon defense system.
“Two out of the sixteen aircraft ordered have arrived, the remaining will arrive in stages every two weeks,” said Air Force Operational Command II commander Vice Marshal Agus Supriatna as quoted by Kompas.com after attending the arrival of the two fighters.
He added, the remaining 14 Golden Eagle aircraft are scheduled to strengthen Iswahyudi AFB Squadron 15 by the end of 2013 to replace dozens of British-made Hawk Mk-53 aircraft bought by the government in 1980s, of which only two are still operating.
“The Hawk Mk-53 will not be used anymore because they are already old and it’s getting difficult for us to get their spare parts. Even if available, they are very expensive,” said Agus Supriatna.
As its predecessor Mk-53s, the T-50i Golden Eagles would be used to train fresh graduates from aviation schools before they operated the TNI AU (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara/Indonesian Air Force) fighter jets such as Sukhoi, F-16, F-5 or Hawk 100/200.
“The T-50i Golden Eagle are equipped with weapon systems that can be used in various missions,” Agus further explained.
Among the weapon systems are AIM-9 Sidewinder, MK-82 bomb, BDU-33, AGM-65 Maverick, MD-20 cluster bomb and JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) smart bomb. Angkasa noted, Golden Eagle has capacity to carry 10,500 pound of weaponry.
“Although they will be used for training, they can also be used as fighter jets. We call the T-50i Golden Eagle the F-16’s little brother,” said Agus Supriatna.
Angkasa further noted the Defense Ministry ordered 16 supersonic Mach 1.5 Golden Eagles aircraft in two colour schemes, eight aircraft in aerobatic scheme and eight in camouflage scheme. At a glance the T-50i looks like an F-16 in a smaller scale and equipped with bubble canopy as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Its Martin Baker ejection seat is positioned with a 17 degree angle, similar seat angle of the latest jet fighters F-35 and F-22. (ds)
Source : Angkasa Online
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