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South Korean KAI FA-50 successfully test-fired an AGM-65 Maverick guided missile.
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World
Aviation Defense & Security News - South Korea |
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| South Korean KAI FA-50 successfully test-fired an AGM-65G Maverick guided missile | |||
The Korean Air Force
said yesterday, October 9, that its indigenously developed FA-50 fighter
jet had succeeded in firing a guided missile that reached its intended
target in the sea. The live firing exercise took place on Wednesday
over the East Sea, the Korean Air Force said. |
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 South Korean KAI FA-50 fighter jet firing an AGM-65G Maverick air-to-surface tactical guided missile |
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During the drill,
an FA-50 fighter jet fired a guided missile, an AGM-65G Maverick, from
an altitude of 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) and hit its target about 7
kilometers away. The target was a retired ship.
“With the successful live firing, we were able to confirm the precision attack capability of the FA-50s, built with our own technologies,” said an Air Force official. The FA-50 Fighting Eagle is a light combat aircraft manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries. It is a combat version of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic advanced jet trainer. The FA-50s are meant to replace the military’s aging fleet of F-5s, and the Air Force started operationally deploying them last year. Capable of flying at a maximum speed of Mach 1.5, the light attack aircraft can carry weapons weighing up to 4.5 tons and be armed with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles and general-purpose bombs. It is also mounted with a three-barrel Gatling gun. Korea signed a deal to export 12 indigenously developed FA-50s to Indonesia in 2011. Iraq also agreed to buy 24 units last year, and the Philippines earlier this year agreed to purchase 12 FA-50s. |
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