Thailand commissions first T-50TH lead-in fighter trainers

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) announced on 4 April that it had commissioned the first batch T-50TH lead-in fighter trainers.

The T-50TH supersonic advanced trainers of 401st Squadron was inducted into the RTAF, at its Wing 4 Base Takhli, Nakhon Sawan, during the commissioning ceremony. The four aircraft were inducted on 4 April at an airbase in Nakhon Sawan, in a commissioning ceremony presided over by RTAF Commander Air Chief Marshal Johm Rungswang.

The first two of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50TH Golden Eagle Lead-In Fighter Trainers (LIFT) serial 40101 and 40102, 401st Squadron will arrive at Wing 4 RTAF Base Takhli, Nakhon Sawan, Thailand on 25 January 2018.

- ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW -

More: Lockheed Martin T-50A reaches 100 flights in Greenville, South Carolina

The T-50TH developed to train and prepare pilots for the F-16 and JAS-39, replacing trainers such as L-39s in service with the RTAF. The T-50TH lead-in fighter trainers developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin.

More: Russia to get first mass-produced T-50 fighter jet by 2020

Korea Aerospace Industrie has delivered 4 of a total of 12 T-50TH aircraft. Thailand is currently signed up for 12 T-50TH aircraft across two batches of four and eight respectively.

 

Readers who wish to follow our weekly coverage can subscribe to the Weekly Defense Roundup.

If you wish to report a grammatical or factual error in this article, please let us know by using the online form.

Executive Editor

Support The Defence Blog

Independent reporting takes resources. Join us on Patreon.

Become a patron

More Like This

South Korea’s missile shield is home — but are the missiles with it?

All six truck-mounted launchers belonging to the U.S. Army's only THAAD battery in South Korea have returned to their home base in Seongju County,...

S&P gives South Korea’s top arms maker an A- rating

A South Korean defense company that was barely known outside Asia a decade ago has received the kind of financial endorsement that opens doors...

South Korea and France join forces on long-range missiles

Hanwha Aerospace, the South Korean defense giant behind one of the most combat-credible rocket artillery systems currently in service, signed a Memorandum of Understanding...

South Korea builds AI defense robot hub

South Chungcheong Province and the city of Nonsan have secured selection as the site of South Korea's new AI defense robotics innovation cluster, winning...

UAE bypasses Hormuz blockade with emergency Korean missile airlift

The United Arab Emirates has dispatched multiple C-17 military transport aircraft to South Korea this week to airlift a new Cheongung-II air defense battery...