South Korea To Supply 20 KT-1 Trainer Jets To Peru

South Korea’s state owned defense manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has signed a $200 million deal to export 20 of its KT-1 trainer jets to Peru over the next four years. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will ship four aircraft and build the remaining 16 in Peru under the government-to-government deal, the Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) said in a release. "In light of the (KT-1) exports to Peru, (South Korea) has paved the way to enter into the South American market, following Southeast Asia and Europe," DAPA chief No Dae-rae said during a signing ceremony in Peru. "We expect Korean defense contractors will expand exports to the South American market in the future". The KT-1 is a trainer jet jointly developed by the KAI and the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for the South Korean Air Force. KAI will share technology to build the single-engine, turboprop aircraft and provide marketing and training services to help Peruvian firms to assemble the aircrafts in local factories, according to DAPA. And will also support Peruvian companies to build KT-1 simulators and develop unmanned aerial vehicles, one of the conditions that boosted the export deal in a close competition, it noted.