The Polish Air Force receives and evaluates its first FA-50 fighters, the replacement for the MiG-29

@DefAviation ES 8·04·2023 · 19:12 0

Poland took delivery of its first two KAI FA-50 Golden Eagle light fighters in July, which have been manufactured in South Korea.

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In June of last year, Poland announced the purchase of 48 FA-50, the light fighter version of the excellent South Korean KAI T-50 Golden Eagle trainer aircraft. These aircraft will serve to replace the fleet of Polish MiG-29s, part of which have been delivered by Poland to Ukraine as military aid against the Russian invasion.

The Polish military newspaper Polska Zbrojna noted today that Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defense, announced that the planes were delivered last month to the 23rd Tactical Air Base near Mińsk Mazowiecki , where it is located the 1st Air Tactical Squadron, equipped with MiG-29. Błaszczak has stated that "for the planes to enter service in the Polish Army, it was necessary to thoroughly check the machines. Both Polish and Korean pilots were responsible for this." This is the last step before handing over the new FA-50 fighter jet to the Polish Armed Forces.

Polska Zbrojna has indicated that the first two Polish FA-50s have completed several stages of training. The first of which was at the manufacturer's headquarters in South Korea, and later at the Korean air bases in Gwangju and Yecheon, where training flights were conducted. In total, the fighters have spent six months of evaluation in South Korea, before flying to Poland.

The first Polish FA-50s will be officially presented during the Polish Army Day parade on August 15 in Warsaw. In addition, at the end of the month they will fly at the Radom air festival, which takes place on August 26 and 27. On the website of the festival are already announced as one of the main numbers.

The FA-50 is an aircraft with highly advanced avionics. It is armed with a 20mm cannon and can fire AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles, and various other weapons. It is powered by a 17,700 lb (79 kN) turbofan engine with afterburning. Its maximum speed is Mach 1.5 (1,852 km/h), with a range of 1,800 km. You can see here a video published by Polska Zbrojna in which we see one of the first Polish FA-50:

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Photos: Airshow Radom 2023 / Polska Zbrojna.