Air Force Pilot Who Created the 'FA-50 Top Gun' After 7 Years

Captain Choi, an FA-50 fighter pilot belonging to the 8th Fighter Wing

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] This year, the Air Force's top marksman 'Top Gun' was awarded to Captain Choi Jun-sang (27, Bachelor 138th class), a pilot of the domestically produced light attack aircraft FA-50. In this competition, the FA-50 produced its first Top Gun winner in seven years since its initial demonstration participation in 2014.

On the 21st, the Air Force announced that Captain Choi, an FA-50 fighter pilot belonging to the 8th Fighter Wing, participated in the '2021 Air Force Operations Command Air Shooting Competition' and scored 955 points out of a total of 1000, receiving the Presidential Award and the Air Force Veterans Association Chairman Award.

Captain Choi was commissioned in June 2017 and has a total flight time of about 460 hours, including approximately 280 hours on his primary aircraft, the FA-50. He serves as an intelligence flight member in his battalion, handling FA-50 tactical data link-related tasks and aircraft identification training. He participated in the 'air-to-air interception' and 'air-to-ground bombing' categories, demonstrating excellent combat skills, including achieving a perfect score in the 'air-to-air interception' category.

In the 'air maneuvering aircraft air drop' category of this competition, Major Jwa Seong-ho (37, Air Force Academy 56th class), a CN-235 transport aircraft pilot from the 258th Airborne Flight Squadron of the 5th Air Maneuver Wing, won the award. In the 'air maneuvering aircraft search and rescue' category, Major Choi Deok-geun (promoted soon, 31, Bachelor 129th class), an HH-32 helicopter pilot from the 235th Search and Rescue Flight Squadron of the 6th Search and Rescue Flight Group, was awarded.

For the team category, the top battalions in the 'fighter' field were the 101st Fighter Flight Squadron (F-5) of the 10th Fighter Wing, the 110th Fighter Flight Squadron (F-15K) of the 11th Fighter Wing, and the 203rd Fighter Flight Squadron (FA-50) of the 8th Fighter Wing. In the 'interception control' field, the 2nd Control Squadron of the 31st Squadron was selected and received the Presidential Award. Captain Lee Dong-ho (29, Officer Candidate 42nd class), an F-5 fighter pilot belonging to the 18th Fighter Wing, was selected for the Shin Young-kyun Special Award.

The 'Air Force Operations Command Air Shooting Competition,' which selects pilots and battalions with the Air Force's best aerial combat skills, began in 1960 as the 'Air Force Shooting Competition' and marked its 62nd event this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.