Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced on June 30 (local time) that it had held an event related to the T-50IQ follow-up operation support in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and military officials.
The three T-50IQs, which had been inspected by the KAI technicians dispatched to Iraq, flew in formation on the same day, and announced the excellence of Korea's maintenance and follow-up support.
Iraq plans to work with KAI to maximize the utilization rate of its fighter jets.
KAI provides maintenance, logistics support, and munitions management programs for the T-50IQ exported to Iraq. In addition, the company will support education and training for training new pilots and mechanics until February 2025.
The contract amount is $360 million, and it is the first follow-up operation support project signed for overseas customers, and is being carried out for the first time in Korea.
Considering that the total life cycle of an aircraft that is normally operated for more than 30 years is 100, development and mass production are about 30, and follow-up operation support is about 70, which makes the market size larger.
As the T-50IQ is operated by the Iraqi Air Force through this event, KAI is also expecting exports to neighboring Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and UAE, which are interested in T-50 series aircraft.
