KAI T-50 Golden Eagle

T-50 Golden Eagle
A Republic of Korea Air Force FA-50 carrying a captive training missile on its wingtip
Role	T-50: Advanced jet trainer TA-50: Lead-in fighter trainer FA-50 Block 10: Light combat aircraft FA-50 Block 20: Light multirole fighter Type of aircraft
National origin	South Korea
Manufacturer	Korea Aerospace Industries Lockheed Martin
First flight	20 August 2002[1]
Introduction	22 February 2005[2]
Status	In service
Primary users	Republic of Korea Air Force Indonesian Air Force Philippine Air Force Royal Thai Air Force
Produced	2001–present
Number built	200 (all models)[3]

The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle (Korean: 골든이글) is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin.^[1] It is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft and one of the world's few supersonic trainers.^[4]

Development of the T-50 began in the late 1990s, and its maiden flight occurred in 2002. It entered active service with the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) in 2005. The T-50 has been further developed into aerobatic and combat variants, namely T-50B, TA-50, and FA-50. An F-50 single-seat multirole fighter variant was considered before being cancelled. The T-50B serves with the South Korean air force's aerobatics team.

The T-50 is in service with a number of countries. Iraq received 24 training variants designated T-50IQ in 2016. The TA-50 light attack variant has also been operated by Indonesia, 16 planes entered service by 2014 and an additional 6 aircraft were ordered in 2021. The Philippines operate the FA-50 light fighter variant, 12 of which were delivered over the next few years with the country considering to order another batch of 12 planes. Thailand ordered 12 units of the T-50 advanced trainer variant (T-50TH) starting in 2015. In 2022, Poland ordered 48 FA-50 aircraft, followed by Malaysia in 2023 that ordered 18 of the latest Block 20 variant.