Polish FA-50

[typerated]

Poland is getting the first of their Korean FA-50's this summer.

There is a photo released of a Polish machine taking off carrying dumb bombs.

I wonder what they plan they might use them for?

If it is light attack with dumb bombs against their near neighbour , good luck with that!

It seems an interesting choice - a bit large and complex for an advanced trainer - bit lightweight for a true combat aeroplane.

They also are also in the process of buying a 100 Apaches - which seems to fly in the face of how attack helicopters have been working in Ukraine.



But then Poland seems to have a unlimited budget and also is in interesting relationship with South Korea with building military kit.

[Bug]

One nagging thought is how well will South Korea be willing to support the weapons it is selling?
In particular, if they start being used in combat.

[typerated]

I think some are going to be built in Poland - a win for both countries.
Unless the aircraft is not that useful?
I wonder if they will be used exclusively for first tours as an extended TWU platform - with a limited last ditch wartime role?

[West Coast]

They also are also in the process of buying a 100 Apaches - which seems to fly in the face of how attack helicopters have been working in Ukraine.

Can you be more specific regarding attack helicopters and Ukraine and how it would apply to a whole different type of warfare employed by NATO, which presumably Poland has adopted since its entry?

[typerated]

Can you be more specific regarding attack helicopters and Ukraine and how it would apply to a whole different type of warfare employed by NATO, which presumably Poland has adopted since its entry?

I take your point. You may well be spot on!
But it's does seem attack helicopters have suffered very heavy losses in Ukraine - lofting unguided rockets is verging on comical - maybe desperate is a better word.

NATO may well employ the helicopters in a different way. Hidden - Stationary - fire an ATM and scoot - But I'd still be cautious .
Remember the bloody nose the 101 Apaches took in Iraq w and also, for all the failures of the Russian military shown in Ukraine - there seems to be no evidence their air defence system is poor - on the contrary!

Also, Poland is only arming to face Russia.

But the UK, US are looking at threats from China to Afgan style conflicts - Apaches and A-10s might be much better suited toward the latter than against the big boys.

[Asturias56]

One nagging thought is how well will South Korea be willing to support the weapons it is selling?
In particular, if they start being used in combat.


Since they're always ready to fight a war themselves and they aren't terribly big fans of the Russians I'd have thought they were more reliable than some, a lot closer, suppliers

[NutLoose]

More on them here, a snippet of the post below

The KAI FA-50, a two-seat, single-engine light fighter/advanced trainer, is based on the ROKAF’s T-50 Golden Eagle training jet that Poland will be receiving the modified variants of. An armed and radar-equipped TA-50 variant also exists with the ROKAF. The PAF’s FA-50GFs will largely remain in the same configuration as the T-50 but with improved avionics, additional internal fuel capacity, and a radar warning receiver suite.

The FA-50PLs will ultimately receive tactical data links, Sniper advanced targeting pod (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43692/american-f-15c-eagles-based-in-japan-are-now-flying-with-infrared-search-and-track-pods)s, active electronically scanned array (AESA) (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-35-will-get-new-radar-under-massive-upgrade-initiative) radars, advanced self-protection capabilities, more fuel capacity, and the ability to launch precision-guided munitions like the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile and GBU-38/B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/winged-jdam-smart-bombs-are-now-operational-in-ukraine) (JDAM).Other weapons that the Polish Ministry of Defense hopes to integrate into the FA-50 platform include Raytheon’s AIM-120 (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/arming-ukrainian-fighters-with-aim-120-missiles-is-a-complex-proposition) advanced medium-range air-to-air missile. However, Brig. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak, deputy of the Inspector of the PAF, said in an interview (http://www.polska-zbrojna.pl/home/articleshow/37927?t=FA-50-idealny-dla-polskich-sil-powietrznych) that the addition of this capability will occur at the end of the service’s FA-50 aircraft development roadmap as it’s dependent on the integration of the AESA radar.

In the same interview, Nowak also said that the first batch of FA-50GFs will be able to carry AIM-9 L/M Sidewinder missiles (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36949/her-majestys-death-ray-how-the-aim-9l-sidewinder-vanquished-argentine-air-force) for “air policing missions.” He went on to note that the follow-on FA-50PL variants will also be capable of employing AIM-9X missiles (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29158/the-aim-9x-sidewinder-may-finally-evolve-into-a-completely-new-and-longer-range-missile) that will be integrated with a Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/18358/new-digital-eyepiece-will-allow-u-s-fighter-pilots-to-own-the-night-like-never-before). There has even been talk of Poland being interested in the South Korean-developed KGGB glide bomb for the FA-50PLs, a GPS-guided weapon that could provide the aircraft with another all-weather precision standoff strike capability.
As The War Zone has reported in the past (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37484/canadian-fighter-pilot-training-company-to-buy-fa-50-light-combat-jets), test pilots of T-50/TA-50/FA-50 types have even said that these aircraft have, at least under some conditions, better turning performance than the F-16 thanks to the design of its airframe, high thrust-to-weight ratio, and digital flight control computer. Powered by the General Electric F404 engine’s 17,700 pounds of thrust, the FA-50 can also fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.5, rounding out its fighter-like qualities.


https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/polands-new-fa-50-light-fighter-emerges