Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the country's only finished aircraft manufacturer, has formed a consortium with Lockheed Martin to bid for the U.S. Navy's Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) replacement program. KAI is seeking its first entry into the U.S. fighter market with the TF-50 model. The TF-50 is a modified version of the KAI FA-50.
According to industry sources on the 29th, the U.S. UJTS program is set to begin accepting requests for proposal (RFP) in the fourth quarter of this year, with a preferred bidder to be selected next year. In addition to KAI and Lockheed Martin, the Boeing (U.S.)–Saab (Sweden) consortium and the Textron (U.S.)–Leonardo (Italy) consortium are participating. The contract timeline has been moved up by one year, from 2028 to 2027.
Advanced trainers are aircraft that fighter pilots board for flight training and, unlike primary and basic trainers, are capable of high-speed flight. The U.S. Navy's advanced trainer is the T-45, introduced in 1991. The aging airframe led to crashes, and in March the aircraft was grounded due to engine problems.
The U.S. desire for rapid delivery favors KAI. Boeing, which beat KAI in 2018 in the U.S. Air Force's advanced trainer replacement program, is facing delivery delays. The TF-50 model from the KAI consortium has been proven in service, with more than 250 units operated by seven countries.
Boeing had planned to complete development of the T-7A by 2022 and achieve initial operational capability (IOC) in 2024, but the IOC phase has been delayed to the spring of 2027. The industry believes stability issues arose for technical reasons. The timeline to achieve full operational capability (FOC), previously slated for 2034, has naturally been pushed back.
Also vying for the Navy trainer program, Boeing's biggest strength is that it is a corporations favored by U.S. President Donald Trump. The president's private jet is also a Boeing model (747), and Boeing has won the next-generation fighter program. Boeing also bids low on price; in 2018, it won the Air Force trainer replacement program for $9.2 billion (about 10.2 trillion won), roughly half of the estimated $16.3 billion (about 18 trillion won).
The specifics of this project, which will procure at least 145 and up to around 220 new trainers, will be released in December. An industry official said, "There is a sense that KAI's chances of winning the bid are higher than before, but there are so many variables that it is hard to predict."
If the KAI–Lockheed Martin consortium wins the U.S. trainer program, the ripple effect is expected to be significant, boosting the likelihood of winning other projects. KAI has previously estimated the ripple effect of securing the trainer program at exports of 1,300 units and up to 340 trillion won in scale.