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South Korea Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)
FA-50 Golden Eagle
Light combat variant of the KAI/Lockheed Martin T-50 supersonic trainer family, fitted with a radar, cannon and weapons pylons for light attack and point-defense fighter roles. Exported to the Philippines, Iraq, Poland and Malaysia.
In service since 2013 · 4 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
1,837
km/h
1,851
km range
14,630
m ceiling
4,536
kg payload
0.96
T/W
💲 ≈ $30,000,000 — Approximate export unit cost
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
ROK export-licensed
DAPA-administered; aggressive export posture with financing/offset packages.
Channel: Government-to-government
Fielded & proven
Established · 4 operators
In service since 2013. Status: active · ~130 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$75M – $105M
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~30 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
- Max speed
Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.
- 1,837 km/h Stronger than 15% of fighters
- Max speed (Mach)
Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.
- 1.5 Mach Bottom 6% of fighters
- Range
Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.
- 1,851 km Stronger than 12% of fighters
- Combat radius
Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.
- 444 km Bottom 8% of fighters
- Service ceiling
Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.
- 14,630 m Bottom 8% of fighters
- Thrust-to-weight
Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up.
- 0.96 Stronger than 34% of fighters
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 3-barrel 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan cannon
- Hardpoints
External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.
- 7 Stronger than 17% of fighters
- Weapons payload
Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.
- 4,536 kg Stronger than 24% of fighters
Protection
Armor, countermeasures and survivability.
- Countermeasures
Self-protection: chaff, flares, DIRCM, towed decoys, smoke dischargers, jammers.
- chaff, flares
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 13.14 m
- Wingspan
Wingtip-to-wingtip span.
- 9.45 m
- Height
Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.
- 4.94 m
- Empty weight
Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.
- 6,470 kg
- Combat weight
Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.
- 9,800 kg
- Crew
Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.
- 1
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
- Engine
Powerplant model and type.
- General Electric F404-GE-102 afterburning turbofan
- Engines
Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.
- 1
- Thrust
Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).
- 78 kN Stronger than 18% of fighters
- Fuel capacity
Internal fuel volume.
- 2,655 L
- Propulsion type
Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…
- Turbofan
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- Elta EL/M-2032 or Israeli-derived multimode radar (variant dependent)
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $30,000,000 Stronger than 86% of fighters
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 130 Stronger than 29% of fighters
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 4 Stronger than 68% of fighters
Specifications compiled from public Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
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What is the top speed of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle has a maximum speed of 1,837 km/h.
What is the range of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle has a maximum range of 1,851 km.
What is the weapons payload of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle can carry up to 4,536 kg of weapons payload.
How much does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle weigh? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle has a combat weight of 9,800 kg.
How many crew does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle require? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle requires a crew of 1.
What is the main armament of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle's primary weapon is the 3-barrel 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan cannon.
What engine does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle use? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle is powered by the General Electric F404-GE-102 afterburning turbofan.
What is the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle used for? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle is a fighter aircraft typically used for close air support, multirole combat, air superiority.
How many countries operate the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle is operated by 4 countries.
How much does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle cost? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle has an approximate unit cost of 30,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
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