DND Awaits'DAPA' to Finalize Acquisition of South Korean F/A-50

KAI F/A-50 (photo : chosun)

MANILA -- The Department of National Defense (DND) is still waiting for its South Korean counterpart to release the so-called "DAPA" before proceeding with the acquisition of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)'s F/A-50 "Golden Eagle" jet aircraft.

The "DAPA" is a technical document certifying that the aircraft has passed all standards requisite for military planes.

Besides this, "DAPA" is also a guarantee that the South Korean government and KAI will assist the Philippines in rectifying possible technical malfunctions or defects in the F/A-50.

"We have meet with South Korean defense representatives this Tuesday and they have pledged to give us this document as soon as possible. Once we have this document in our hands, the acquisition for the F/A-50 will start rolling," the DND observer stressed.

The latter added that the ball is literally in the hands of the South Korean officials if the Philippine Air Force (PAF) is to fly the F/A-50 anytime soon.

"But until we have the 'DAPA' in our hands, the DND is still open to any aircraft manufacturer who is willing to sell affordable and yet quality jet planes to the Philippines," he added.

But the DND observer also clarified that the F/A-50 is the ideal aircraft for the PAF due to its capabilities.

"What we are asking now is that the South Korean act on this matter immediately so that the acquisition process can be expedited," he pointed out.

The Philippines is in the market for 12 supersonic trainer aircraft which can double as interim fighter and attack planes for the PAF. It has allocated P18 billion for this program.

The Government Procurement Policy Board earlier gave the DND the "green-light" to start pre-negotiations with the South Korean government for 12 F/A 50 aircraft last January.

The plane is manufactured by the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The F/A-50 is also known as the TA-50.

The F/A-50 design is largely derived from the F-16 "Fighting Falcon", and they have many similarities: use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons.

KAI's previous engineering experience in license-producing the KF-16 was a starting point for the development of the F/A-50.

The aircraft can carry two pilots in tandem seating. The high-mounted canopy developed by Hankuk Fiber is applied with stretched acrylic, providing the pilots with good visibility, and has been tested to offer the canopy with ballistic protection against four-pound objects impacting at 400 knots.

The altitude limit is 14,600 meters (48,000 feet), and airframe is designed to last 8,000 hours of service.

There are seven internal fuel tanks with capacity of 2,655 liters (701 US gallons), five in the fuselage and two in the wings.

An additional 1,710 liters (452 US gallons) of fuel can be carried in the three external fuel tanks.

Trainer variants have a paint scheme of white and red, and aerobatic variants white, black, and yellow.

The F/A-50 "Golden Eagle" uses a single General Electric F404-102 turbofan engine license-produced by Samsung Techwin, upgraded with a full authority digital engine control system jointly developed by General Electric and KAI.

The engine consists of three-staged fans, seven axial stage arrangement, and an afterburner.

The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4-1.5.

Its engine produces a maximum of 78.7 kN (17,700 lbf) of thrust with afterburner. 

(PTVNews)