South Korea Plans T-50 Training Jets Export to US, Botswana, Argentina

South Korea plans to export T-50 supersonic training jets to the US, Botswana, Argentina and Croatia; details of potential deals could be announced during the upcoming Seoul air show next month, South Korean defense ministry said.

The US plans to send F-22 raptor and F-35A lightning II fighter jets,  A-10 Thunderbolt and V-22 Osprey as well as the Bell 429 GlobalRanger helicopter and E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS) aircraft for the ADEX show which will open on Oct. 17 for a six-day run at Seoul Air Base, South Korea's defense ministry was quoted as saying by Yonhap Tuesday.

South Korea has signed a contract to buy 40 F-35As and the first batch of the aircraft will be delivered to the country's Air Force in 2018.

South Korea will also display its major weapons such as the F-15K Slam Eagle, KF-16 Fighting Falcon, T-50 Golden Eagle and KT-1 Woongbi jets, along with the P-3 Orion, KUH-1 Surion and AH-64D Apache attack choppers.

Army assets to be on show include K1A1 main battle tanks, K-21 infantry fighting vehicles and Patriot missiles as well as Shingung and Cheongung surface-to-air missiles.

"In particular, brisk activities are expected during the expo this time in connection with efforts to export T-50 supersonic training jets to the US, Botswana, Argentina and Croatia," the ministry said.

South Korea is bidding for the Advanced Pilot Training program of the US Air Force, also known as T-X, to replace its aging fleet of 350 T-38 trainer jets, a deal reportedly worth US$16 billion.