Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has published images of the first FA-50 Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft to be rolled out sporting the colours of the Polish Air Force which is set to receive 48 examples of the type in the near future.

The aircraft (serial 5002) was recently unveiled at KAI’s facility in Sacheon, a city located in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province, sporting the typical grey livery and red and white checkerboard insignia of the Polish Air Force that has been applied across the air arm’s fleet of combat aircraft. However, for the first time in the history of the Polish Air Force, a false canopy has been painted on the underside of the fuselage – the purpose of which is to confuse an enemy pilot during a dogfight so that they do not know which direction the aircraft is turning.

Warsaw placed an order for 12 baseline FA-50 Block 10s – in a configuration similar to the examples employed by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) – in a deal worth US$705m on July 28, 2022, with deliveries scheduled to commence later this year. That same day, Poland also procured an additional 36 FA-50PL Block 20s for a further US$2.3bn; deliveries of which will begin in 2025 and are due to be completed by the end of 2028.

The initial 12 FA-50 Block 10s will be delivered to 23 Baza Lotnicza Taktycznego (23 BLT; 23rd Tactical Air Base) in Mińsk Mazowiecki, with the first aircraft slated to arrive in Q3 2023 and the final examples set to follow before the end of the year. This will be followed by the delivery of a full mission simulator that will be operational from 2024. To prepare for the FA-50s, some infrastructure improvements are currently being made to the base, including the construction of new hangars and buildings.

Since early January, the first group of Polish Air Force pilots have been training on the FA-50 in South Korea. This initial cadre involves four pilots, comprising three former MiG-29 Fulcrum crews and one ex-PZL-130 Orlik pilot. Having spent a month in ground school training at KAI facilities, these pilots have now transferred to the ROKAF’s 1st Fighter Wing at Gwangju Air Base, where they are participating in a 23-week training programme, which is being conducted in two phases: computer-based training and live flying in the T-50 Golden Eagle – the advanced jet trainer variant of the FA-50. This initial group is expected to complete their training before July 21.

In early April, another four Polish pilots (ex-MiG-29, PZL-130 and Su-22) – amongst them one woman – will be deployed to South Korea for training on the FA-50. This group will be trained from May 8 to October 13 and will return to Poland in November. In the meantime, a few groups of Polish technicians will be sent to South Korea for ground crew training.

Meanwhile, Poland’s wider acquisition of 36 FA-50PL Block 20s continues to develop. According to Polish Air Force Inspector Brig Gen Ireneusz Nowak, the avionics configuration of the FA-50PL has been frozen and the air arm is now awaiting the purchase of a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that is capable of integrating with the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). Poland is considering the purchase of the South Korea-developed Korean GPS Guided Bomb (KGGB), an air-to-ground glide-guided weapon system that is attached to a conventional Mk 82 general-purpose bomb and boasts a range of 70km. This will provide the FA-50PL with a capability to perform precision strikes with stand-off weapons in all weather conditions, day and night.