No. The KAI T-50 and FA-50 are front-line military aircraft with no public passenger-flight programme. You can, however, fly in several genuine military jets today via MiGFlug.

Aircraft Museum › Trainer & Light Fighter › T-50

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle
& the FA-50 Fighting Eagle

Q: What is the difference between the T-50 and the FA-50?

The T-50 is the advanced jet trainer at the base of the family. The FA-50 is the light combat variant, adding radar, an internal cannon, combat hardpoints and mission systems to serve as a light fighter.

Q: Who makes the T-50 Golden Eagle?

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) of South Korea builds it, developed with substantial design help from Lockheed Martin, which contributed F-16-derived aerodynamics and systems.

Q: How fast is the T-50 / FA-50?

About Mach 1.5 (roughly 1,840 km/h). It is genuinely supersonic, powered by a single General Electric F404-GE-102 afterburning turbofan of about 17,700 lbf.

Q: Why did Poland buy the FA-50?

Poland ordered 48 FA-50s in 2022 (about US$3 billion) to quickly replace its Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-22 fleets and add a modern Western-integrated light fighter.

South Korea’s first home-built supersonic jet — a Lockheed-Martin-assisted advanced trainer that grew into the FA-50 light fighter now flying with air forces from Manila to Warsaw.

Mach 1.5Top speed · supersonic trainer

2002First flight · in service 2005

48FA-50s ordered by Poland · largest export

7+Air forces operating the type

Photo: ROKAF / Korea Aerospace Industries · CC BY 2.0

RoleAdvanced trainer & light combat aircraftEraModern · 21st centuryMotor1 × GE F404-GE-102OriginSouth Korea · KAI / Lockheed MartinStatusActive (many operators)Want to fly a fighter jet yourself?

La historia

From lead-in trainer to light fighter

In the 1990s South Korea set out to build something it had never built before: a modern jet fast enough to prepare pilots for supersonic front-line fighters like the F-16 and F-15K. The programme, known as KTX-2, was led by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with substantial design help from Lockheed Martin, whose engineers brought across the aerodynamic and systems know-how of the F-16. The result, the T-50 Golden Eagle, looks and flies like a scaled two-seat Fighting Falcon.

The T-50 first flew on 20 August 2002 and entered Republic of Korea Air Force service in 2005. From that single airframe KAI grew a whole family: the T-50 advanced trainer; the T-50B flown by the ROKAF Black Eagles display team; the TA-50 light-attack version; and the FA-50, a genuine light combat aircraft with radar, a cannon and combat-capable hardpoints. A single-seat variant and the T-50A — Lockheed Martin and KAI’s bid for the US Air Force’s T-X trainer contest — extended the line further, though the T-X was lost to the Boeing–Saab T-7A.

What began as a domestic training jet has become one of the most successful defence-export stories in Asia. FA-50s and T-50s now serve or are on order with the Philippines, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Malaysia and — in the programme’s biggest single deal — Poland, a NATO member that ordered 48 aircraft in 2022 to replace its Soviet-era MiG-29s and Su-22s. The latest FA-50 Block 20 adds an AESA radar, an air-to-air refuelling probe and extended range, pushing the design further toward a true light fighter.

A domestic trainer that turned into one of Asia’s biggest fighter-export successes.The Golden Eagle story — T-50 to FA-50

01The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle’s origins: how Korea built a supersonic jet with Lockheed’s help

The KTX-2 study dates back to the early-to-mid 1990s; it was suspended for budget reasons in 1995 and relaunched later in the decade, with full-scale development commonly dated to around 1997. South Korea funded the bulk of the programme, with KAI and Lockheed Martin taking minority shares. Lockheed Martin’s role was decisive: it transferred F-16-derived aerodynamics, flight-control and systems experience, which is why the T-50 is often described as a two-seat, smaller cousin of the Fighting Falcon.

The pay-off was that South Korea gained a sovereign supersonic jet and a manufacturing base it could build on — first the trainer, then the FA-50 light fighter, and later the far more ambitious KF-21 Boramae fighter programme. The T-50 was the stepping stone that proved Korea could design and export fast jets.

Design & Engineering

What makes it special

F-16 aerodynamics on a single engine

Thanks to Lockheed Martin’s input, the T-50 carries F-16-derived aerodynamics — blended wing-body, leading-edge root extensions and a fly-by-wire flight-control system — but on a smaller, cheaper airframe powered by a single General Electric F404-GE-102 afterburning turbofan of about 17,700 lbf (78.7 kN). That makes it a genuinely supersonic trainer, able to reach roughly Mach 1.5.

One airframe, four jobs

Few designs stretch as far. The same basic aircraft serves as the T-50 advanced trainer, the aerobatic T-50B of the Black Eagles, the TA-50 light-attack jet and the FA-50 light fighter. This trainer-to-light-fighter scalability lets one production line and one pilot-training pipeline cover a whole spectrum of missions.

The FA-50 Block 20 grows teeth

The latest FA-50 Block 20 adds a modern AESA radar (options include Israel’s IAI Elta EL/M-2032 on earlier jets and Raytheon’s new air-cooled PhantomStrike), an air-to-air refuelling probe, more hardpoints and extended range — turning what started as a trainer into a credible light fighter with beyond-visual-range potential.

02The FA-50’s engine and airframe: one GE F404 and F-16 aerodynamics

The FA-50 is built around a single General Electric F404-GE-102 — the same engine family that powers the F/A-18 Hornet and the Indian Tejas — rated at roughly 17,700 lbf (about 78.7 kN) in full afterburner and managed by a digital FADEC. A single modern engine keeps the aircraft light and cheap to run while still giving supersonic performance (about Mach 1.5). The airframe itself is closely related to the F-16 in planform and flight-control philosophy, which is why FA-50 pilots transition so smoothly onto the KF-16.

03The FA-50 Block 20: the AESA radar and refuelling probe that turn a trainer into a fighter

Early FA-50s flew with a mechanically-scanned radar and short legs. The Block 20 standard — central to the Polish FA-50PL and later Philippine and Malaysian jets — introduces an AESA radar for longer detection range and better resistance to jamming, an air-to-air refuelling probe to extend endurance, and integration of newer weapons such as the AIM-9X and beyond-visual-range missiles. Raytheon delivered the first of its GaN-based PhantomStrike AESA sets for the FA-50 in 2025. The upgrade is what lets buyers market the FA-50 as a low-cost light fighter rather than merely an armed trainer.

Datos técnicos

Full specifications

Figures below are for the FA-50 light-combat variant; the T-50 trainer is very similar but unarmed. Contested values are hedged.

Airframe & Performance

Multitud: 2 (tándem)
Longitud: 13.14 m
Envergadura: 9.45 m
Altura: 4.82 m
Peso vacío: ~6,470 kg
Max takeoff weight: ~12,300 kg
Max speed: ~Mach 1.5 (~1,840 km/h)
Techo de servicio: ~14,600 m (~48,000 ft)
Ferry range: ~1,850 km (with external fuel)
Load factor: +8 / −3 g

Propulsion, Armament & Cost

Motor: 1 × GE F404-GE-102
Empuje: ~78.7 kN (~17,700 lbf) with afterburner
Radar (Block 20): AESA — e.g. Raytheon PhantomStrike / IAI EL/M-2032
Cannon: 1 × internal 20 mm three-barrel Gatling-type
Puntos duros: 7 · ~4,500 kg external load
First flight: 20 August 2002
Unit cost: ~US$30 million (FA-50, estimate)
Cost per flight hour: No official public figure (est. low five-figures/hr)

04The FA-50’s operating costs: why it sells as a budget fighter

The FA-50’s whole commercial pitch is affordability. A flyaway price commonly quoted in the US$30-million range undercuts a full multirole fighter several times over, and a single modern engine keeps fuel and maintenance bills far below a twin-engine jet. Buyers such as the Philippines and Poland chose it precisely because it delivers a supersonic, radar-and-missile-equipped platform for the cost of a heavy trainer.

Precise operating costs are not officially published. A cost-per-flight-hour in the low five figures of US dollars is frequently cited in trade press — well under a comparable F-16 hour — but treat any exact number as an estimate rather than an audited figure.

Timeline

From KTX-2 to global export

1997

KTX-2 development launches

KAI and Lockheed Martin begin full-scale development of an F-16-derived supersonic trainer for South Korea.

2002

First flight

The T-50 Golden Eagle makes its maiden flight on 20 August 2002.

2005

Enters ROKAF service

The T-50 joins the Republic of Korea Air Force as its advanced jet trainer.

2011

First export — Indonesia

Indonesia orders 16 T-50i trainers, the type’s first foreign sale.

2013–14

Iraq and the Philippines

Iraq orders 24 T-50IQ; the Philippines contracts for 12 FA-50PH light fighters.

2017

Combat debut over Marawi

Philippine FA-50PHs fly close-air-support strikes against ISIS-aligned militants in the Marawi siege.

2018

Loses the US T-X

The Lockheed Martin/KAI T-50A is beaten by the Boeing–Saab T-7A Red Hawk for the US Air Force trainer.

2022

Poland’s landmark order

Poland signs for 48 FA-50s (12 FA-50GF + 36 FA-50PL) worth about US$3 billion — the biggest export deal.

2023–25

Malaysia and Block 20

Malaysia orders 18 FA-50M; the Philippines adds 12 Block 20 jets and the first PhantomStrike AESA is delivered.

Stories & Eyewitnesses

Twelve Golden Eagle stories

Origins

Lockheed’s Korean F-16 cousin

The T-50 was co-designed with Lockheed Martin and flies like a shrunk two-seat F-16.

Read the full story

South Korea had never built a supersonic jet before the T-50. To get there, KAI partnered with Lockheed Martin, which brought across the aerodynamic and flight-control heritage of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The family resemblance is no accident: the blended wing-body, the leading-edge root extensions and the fly-by-wire feel are all F-16 DNA, shrunk onto a lighter single-engine airframe. FA-50 pilots step almost seamlessly onto Korea’s KF-16s.

Programme

Frozen, then revived

The trainer programme was suspended in 1995 for lack of money before being relaunched.

Read the full story

The KTX-2 study that became the T-50 was nearly a casualty of budget cuts — it was suspended in 1995 and only revived later in the decade. Its survival mattered: the T-50 became South Korea’s first domestically developed supersonic aircraft and the industrial stepping stone toward the far more ambitious KF-21 Boramae fighter now in development.

Milestone

Korea’s first supersonic jet

The T-50 was the first supersonic aircraft designed and built in South Korea.

Read the full story

When it first flew in 2002, the Golden Eagle marked a national-industrial milestone: a home-designed jet able to punch through the sound barrier. For a country that had spent decades as a licence-builder and importer of Western aircraft, designing its own supersonic platform was a statement of technological arrival.

Display team

The Black Eagles

The ROKAF’s Black Eagles aerobatic team flies the T-50B in a striking black-and-gold livery.

Read the full story

The T-50B is the aerobatic-display version flown by the Republic of Korea Air Force’s Black Eagles. Trading their earlier subsonic jets for the supersonic Golden Eagle gave the team a fast, powerful mount, and they have become one of the most-watched display teams in Asia — a flying showcase for a jet Korea also wants to sell abroad.

Versatility

One airframe, four jobs

Trainer, aerobatic jet, light-attack aircraft and light fighter all share the same design.

Read the full story

Very few aircraft families stretch as far as the Golden Eagle. The same basic airframe serves as the T-50 trainer, the T-50B display jet, the TA-50 light-attack aircraft and the FA-50 light fighter. That breadth lets a single production line and training pipeline cover missions that would otherwise need several different types.

Combat

Baptism at Marawi

The FA-50’s first shots in anger came over a Philippine city besieged by ISIS-aligned fighters.

Read the full story

In 2017, Philippine Air Force FA-50PHs flew close-air-support strikes during the five-month Battle of Marawi, when Maute and ISIS-aligned militants seized much of the southern city. It was the FA-50’s combat debut, and Philippine commanders publicly credited air power as a decisive factor in retaking the city, though detailed sortie figures were never released.

Export

Poland’s post-Soviet pivot

A NATO member bought 48 Korean jets to finally retire its MiG-29s and Su-22s.

Read the full story

In 2022 Poland signed for 48 FA-50s in a deal worth around US$3 billion — the largest export order in the programme’s history. For a NATO air force still flying Soviet-era MiG-29s and Su-22s, the Korean jet offered a fast route to a modern, Western-integrated light fighter, bought as part of a wider Polish rearmament after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Export

The ‘Gap Filler’

Poland took 12 near-stock FA-50GF jets fast, just over a year after signing, to plug a capability gap.

Read the full story

Rather than wait for its bespoke FA-50PL standard, Poland ordered 12 near-stock FA-50GF (“Gap Filler”) aircraft for rapid delivery, with the first arriving only about 15 months after contract signature. The remaining 36 upgraded FA-50PL jets, fitted with an AESA radar and more weapons, follow later — a two-step approach that got capability into service quickly.

Competition

Beaten by the Red Hawk

The T-50A lost the US Air Force’s huge T-X trainer contest to the Boeing–Saab T-7A.

Read the full story

Lockheed Martin and KAI offered the T-50A for the US Air Force’s T-X advanced-trainer programme, one of the largest trainer competitions ever. In 2018 the contract went instead to the clean-sheet Boeing–Saab T-7A Red Hawk. The loss closed the door on the single biggest potential market for the Golden Eagle, but did little to slow its export momentum elsewhere.

Technology

An American radar for a Korean jet

Raytheon’s air-cooled GaN PhantomStrike AESA is being fitted to give the FA-50 fighter-class eyes.

Read the full story

To make the FA-50 a credible light fighter, later Block 20 jets are being fitted with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Raytheon delivered the first of its compact, air-cooled gallium-nitride PhantomStrike sets for the FA-50 in 2025, promising far greater detection range and jamming resistance than the trainer-grade radar the type started with.

Detail

Not a Vulcan

Despite the Gatling label, the FA-50 carries a three-barrel 20 mm cannon, not the six-barrel M61.

Read the full story

A common error is to credit the FA-50 with the six-barrel M61 Vulcan of the F-16. In fact the internal gun is a lighter three-barrel 20 mm Gatling-type cannon — a General Dynamics A-50/M197-family weapon — better suited to the smaller airframe. It is a small but telling reminder that the FA-50 is a light fighter, not a full-size one.

Combat

The trainer that fights

Operators increasingly send their “trainer” Golden Eagles into real combat.

Read the full story

The line between trainer and fighter has blurred. Iraq acquired its T-50IQ jets partly to help in the campaign against ISIS; the Philippines has used FA-50PHs operationally against insurgents; and Thailand’s T-50THs were reportedly committed to combat during 2025 border clashes. A design conceived to teach pilots keeps finding itself pressed into the fight.

Gallery

The Golden Eagle in pictures

A KAI FA-50 Golden Eagle on the runway South Koreas home-built light fighter. — A KAI FA-50 Golden Eagle on the runway — South Korea’s home-built light fighter.Photo: ROKAF / Korea Aerospace Industries · CC BY 2.0

An FA-50 of the Republic of Korea Air Force in flight the launch operator. — An FA-50 of the Republic of Korea Air Force in flight — the launch operator.Photo: Republic of Korea Armed Forces · CC BY-SA 2.0

An FA-50 Fighting Eagle at a delivery ceremony the light-combat variant of the T-50. — An FA-50 Fighting Eagle at a delivery ceremony — the light-combat variant of the T-50.Photo: ROKAF / Korea Aerospace Industries · CC BY 2.0

A Philippine Air Force FA-50PH the variant blooded over Marawi in 2017. — A Philippine Air Force FA-50PH — the variant blooded over Marawi in 2017.Photo: Boevaya mashina · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

A Philippine FA-50PH climbing away Manilas first supersonic jets in decades. — A Philippine FA-50PH climbing away — Manila’s first supersonic jets in decades.Photo: rhk111 · CC BY-SA 4.0

A KAI T-50 Golden Eagle on a demonstration flight the trainer at the root of the family. — A KAI T-50 Golden Eagle on a demonstration flight — the trainer at the root of the family.Photo: Korea Aerospace Industries · CC BY 2.0

The ROKAF Black Eagles fly the aerobatic T-50B in their black-and-gold livery.Photo: Airwolfhound · CC BY-SA 2.0

Watch

The Golden Eagle in motion

A curated video feature for the T-50 / FA-50 is coming soon. In the meantime, explore the photo gallery above and the operator map below.

Operations

Where the Golden Eagle flies

Combat & Service Record

The record that defines it

The Golden Eagle was born as a trainer, but its FA-50 light-fighter form has seen real combat. Its defining moment came in 2017, when Philippine Air Force FA-50PHs flew close-air-support strikes during the five-month Battle of Marawi against Maute and ISIS-aligned militants — the type’s combat debut. Iraq acquired its T-50IQ jets partly for the fight against ISIS, and Thailand reportedly committed its T-50THs during 2025 border clashes. In March 2025 the Philippines lost one FA-50PH in a night mission crash, its first operational loss.

2017FA-50PH combat debut over Marawi

~4,500 kgExternal weapons load across 7 hardpoints

Mach 1.5Supersonic — faster than most light-attack jets

Compare the combat record of every military aircraft. Figures as of July 2026.

Questions & Answers

Everything people ask about the T-50 & FA-50

Can I fly in a T-50?

No — the KAI T-50 and FA-50 are front-line military aircraft with no public passenger-flight programme, so you cannot book a ride in one. You can, however, fly in several genuine military jets today — see migflug.com/flights-prices/.

What is the difference between the T-50 and the FA-50?

El T-50 is the advanced jet trainer — the base of the family. The FA-50 is the light combat variant, adding a radar, an internal cannon, combat-capable hardpoints and mission systems so it can serve as a light fighter and attack aircraft. In between sit the TA-50 (light attack) and the aerobatic T-50B.

Who makes the T-50 Golden Eagle?

It is built by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) of South Korea, developed with substantial design assistance from Lockheed Martin, which contributed F-16-derived aerodynamics and systems.

Has the FA-50 seen combat?

Yes. Philippine Air Force FA-50PHs flew close-air-support strikes during the 2017 Battle of Marawi against ISIS-aligned militants — the type’s combat debut. Iraq and Thailand have also used their T-50 variants operationally.

How fast is the T-50 / FA-50?

Acerca de Mach 1.5 (roughly 1,840 km/h). It is genuinely supersonic, powered by a single General Electric F404-GE-102 afterburning turbofan of about 17,700 lbf.

Why did Poland buy the FA-50?

Poland ordered 48 FA-50s in 2022 (about US$3 billion) to quickly replace its Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-22 fleets and add a modern, Western-integrated light fighter as part of a broad rearmament. The first 12 “Gap Filler” jets arrived within about 15 months.

Does the FA-50 have an AESA radar?

The latest FA-50 Block 20 introduces an AESA radar — options include Israel’s IAI Elta EL/M-2032 and Raytheon’s PhantomStrike — along with an air-to-air refuelling probe and extended range. Earlier FA-50s used a mechanically-scanned radar.

Is the T-50 still in production?

Yes. With orders from Poland, Malaysia, the Philippines and others still being filled into the late 2020s, the T-50/FA-50 remains in active production and is one of Asia’s most successful defence exports.

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