Malaysia Finalizes Contract for Importing Supersonic Fighter Jet 'FA-50'

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop to Visit Malaysia from the 22nd
Attend Lima Airshow and Finalize FA-50 Export Contract

Malaysia will import the supersonic light attack aircraft FA-50 developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 22nd, Minister Lee Jong-seop will visit Malaysia from the 22nd to the 25th and hold talks with Mohamad Hasan, Malaysia's Minister of Defense.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This meeting was arranged as Minister Lee attended 'LIMA 2023' (hereinafter referred to as LIMA Airshow), one of the leading international airshows in Southeast Asia. Following the defense minister talks, Minister Lee is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim to discuss defense and defense industry cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Lee will then attend the final contract signing ceremony for the export of the supersonic light attack aircraft FA-50 developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on the 23rd. Malaysia signed the main contract to introduce 18 FA-50s with KAI in February. The Ministry of National Defense stated, "The export of FA-50 to Malaysia this time is expected to serve as a milestone for the full-scale development of Korea-Malaysia defense industry cooperation."

The LIMA Airshow is expected to see active discussions on defense industry exports, as it will be attended by over 600 companies from more than 30 countries including Korea, and defense ministers from eight countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), T?rkiye, Indonesia, and Singapore. The military plans to promote Korean weapon systems through the airshow performance by the Air Force's special flight team Black Eagles and the exhibition of the latest 4,900-ton class landing ship Nojeokbong, commissioned in 2018.

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