The Philippine Air Force has awarded Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) a contract to sustain its FA-50 Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft.
The agreement will run under a performance based logistics (PBL) framework in which value per maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) relies on resulting improvements.
PBL for the Southeast Asian government’s fleet will cost 27 billion won ($20.4 million) for one year and will consist of repair parts, transportation, technical support, inventory management, and equipment acquisitions.
Work for this period will be evaluated and become the basis for potential multi-year contracts.
First on PBL Service
KAI noted that the Philippine Air Force FA-50s are the first to receive the company’s exclusive PBL package for export aircraft.
As the Fighting Eagle developer, KAI will leverage experience over 15 years of domestic follow-up projects on similar fighters, enabling platforms to operate more than their expected availability of 40 to 50 years while cutting costs for lifecycle support — commonly two to five times the aircraft procurement’s value.
The success of Manila’s FA-50s will support the company in offering a new revenue stream and promoting its overseas MRO to other countries employing the Fighting Eagle and similar systems.
“Stable PBL follow-up support can be a ‘win-win’ model for both customers and companies by promoting improved capabilities and reducing operating costs,” KAI President Kang Goo-young explained.
“By successfully completing this first overseas PBL project, we will lay the foundation for a customer satisfaction cycle of ‘aircraft export → follow-up support → re-export’ and serve as a stepping stone for contracts with other countries.”
Super Tucano, Jose Rizal Maintenance
KAI’s latest contract follows the Philippines’ award to aerospace industry partner Embraer in 2023 for similar services on its A-29 Super Tucano light attack fleet.
A year earlier, Manila negotiated with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries to establish an MRO depot in Subic, Zambales, for the company’s previously-delivered Jose Rizal-class frigates.
The FA-50 Fighting Eagle
KAI’s FA-50 is a derivative of the company’s T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic aircraft. It was first introduced to the Philippines in 2013.
The Fighting Eagle has improved ejection seats, weapons control handling, long-range detection and tracking, as well as self-protection systems.
Its fuselage measures 13 meters (43 feet) long, while its wings measure 9 meters (31 feet).
FA-50 is powered by a General Electric turbofan engine for a top speed of 1,852 kilometers (1,150 miles) per hour.
It is armed with a three-barreled gun, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and guided-precision bombs and munitions.