US Prevents S.Korea From Displaying T-50 jets At Zhuhai Air Show

South Korea has been forced to pull out of the Zhuhai Air Show, China next week at the last minute where it was expected to display the T-50 trainer aircraft.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson cited pressure from the United States over concerns that T-50 technology could be copied as the prime reason for pulling out of the show.

According to the spokesperson, "We decided to cancel our participation in the Chinese airshow after the US cited its law concerning exports and trade of key US military technology," the spokesman said, explaining that core technology used in the aircraft came from the US. "South Korea maintains a mutual defence pact, and we need US consent about some military issues."

The T-50 is South Korea's first indigenously-built supersonic aircraft jointly developed by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin.

Since being developed into combat and multi-role variants, Seoul has been keen to sell the aircraft to Southeast Asia, Europe and South America.