KAI Agrees to Export to
Turkey 55 Basic Trainers,
Developed with Korea's
Own Technology

The value of the contract is worth $500 million, the largest one in Korean history in the field of aircraft exportation

Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI) has agreed to export 55 basic trainers (KT-1), developed with Korea's own technology, to Turkey.
KAI said it signed an agreement to export KT-1 aircraft with the Turkish government on August 3.
It is significant that K-1 has been selected by Turkey, which is choosy in its selection of military equipment as a traditional military powerhouse, outbidding such rivals from the United States and Brazil. Capitalizing on its strengths - excellent performance and low maintenance costs - in the bidding competition, it is the first time Korea has agreed to export domestically developed aircraft in a finished goods form.
The value of the contract is worth $500 million, the largest one in Korean history of exporting aircraft. A first shipment of 40 KT-1 aircraft will be delivered this time and an additional contract to export 15 aircraft will be made in the year 2008. An improved version of KT-1 aircraft, which will be upgraded according to Turkey's demands, will be delivered by 2013, KAI said.
Park Jae-jung, executive director in charge of export at KAI, said, "KT-1 has been selected as a basic trainer by Turkey, which has been depending on U.S.-made airspace weapon systems, paving the way for KAI to gain an upper hand in the global market."The success story of exporting the Korean-made trainer aircraft set up as an example of close collaboration among Korean civilian, government and military circles.
The Ministry of National Defense and the Agency for Defense Development, which have maintained traditionally better ties with Turkey, have provided support for exporting KT-1 aircrafts. Minister of National Defense Kim Jang-soo made an official visit to Turkey this past March, while Lee Sun-hi, commissioner of Defense Acquisition Program Administration, also participated in the 8th annual International Defense Fair (IDEF 2007) held in Turkey this past May as part of continued goodwill between the two nations.
The Ministry of Commerce, Energy and Industry has aggressively provided assistance in the implementation of a leading project to develop an exporting model of KT-1 that can cut down on the costs related to the operation of aircraft, partly contributing to securing a competitive edge in the bidding competition.
The Agency for Defense Development managed a project to develop KT-1 while KAI commercialized the basic trainer aircraft and supplied it to the Korean air force.
KAI has so far exported 12 KT-1 aircraft abroad in offset trade deals, including seven aircraft to Indonesia.
With the best flight performance, the superiority of KT-1 basic trainer is evident in comparison with any competing aircraft. Several countries of Southeast Asia and Central & South America have showed great interest in the KT-1 aircraft.
MOCIE sources said "There are around 10 countries in the world that have developed their own exporting aircraft models, including the United States and the Russia. It was considered a monopoly of the developed nations but KAI opened up an era of exporting aircraft and entered into the ranks of developed aerospace countries.
The price of an aircraft is very valuable. Each product amounts to approximately 250 ~ 1,500 medium-sized cars and the parts of aircraft at around 200,000. It has a ripple effect on front & rear industries and job creation. By this reason, the Aerospace Industry should be brought up as the next generation growth power in succession of the automobile and shipbuilding in the situation that the Korea aims at the $20,000 per capita income goal.
According to aerospace industry sources, the Korea Aerospace Industry has obtained excellent results without parallel in the history all over the world aerospace industry. The source also added that the achievement and development ability of KT-1 basic trainer and T-50 supersonic jet trainer following 10 years from starting the development of aircraft in 1990 has been remarkable.
In case of an aerospace industry, it is required that a large-scale fund be created. It is also necessary that the nation take on the industry and support it for the success of the industry has high reliance upon on government demands. For these reasons, each nation has brought up the aerospace industry in government policy. This exportation is rated as a successful case working in close cooperation with government and business enterprises, because the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy has supported the development of the KT-1 enhanced trainer as the main export of the national aerospace industry. nw

Korea Aerospace Industries President and CEO Chung Hae-joo and his Turkish counterpart hold up an agreement to sell 55 basic trainer KT-1s, developed with Korea's own technology, to Turkey.

KT-1, developed with Korea's own technology, will be exported to Turkey.