Botswana looking to possibly buy T-50 and FA-50

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19 years 3 months

Posts: 1,620

It looks as though Botswana is looking seriously at the T-50 and FA-50 to replace its F-5 fleet.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 11:51

AAFonline

Botswana is actively looking to purchase South Korea's T-50 supersonic advanced trainer and its FA-50 light combat aircraft, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on 18 November 2013.

The Botswana Air Force’s current compliment of aircraft consists of 14, F-5A fighter jets and F-5D trainers it bought from Canada in 1996. However it is now looking to replace them with more suitable modern aircraft.

Botswana’s Minister of Defence, Dikgakgamatso Seretse, met with his Korean counterpart Kim Kwan-jin in Seoul on 30 October 2013 during his visit to attend the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2013.

As a result of the deal, a senior South Korean military delegation will visit Botswana between 23 and 28 November 2013, to expand defense ties and seek opportunities to export home-made trainer jets to Botswana, Seoul's defense ministry said on 18 November 2013. The delegation will consist of a team of eight military, acquisition and Air Force officials, led by a two-star general.

The Korean delegation plans to meet Botswana officials and hold a business presentation on the T-50 supersonic trainer, built jointly by Korea Aerospace Industries (KIA) and US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, as well as the FA-50, a light attack variant of the T-50.

"The visit is aimed at providing government support to facilitate the export of the T-50 or the FA-50," a senior South Korean Defence Ministry official said on customary anonymity. "We hope the upcoming visit could help pave the way for South Korea to tap into Africa, expanding its overseas market focused in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe."

It is presently known that the Botswana government is seeking to acquire about 16 jets, with plans to receive a first batch of eight aircraft with no specific date yet to be decided, according to military officials.

http://www.aafjournal.co.za/news/botswana-set-purchase-south-korean-trainer-and-fighter-aircraft

If this comes to fruition, it will be the third export order after Indonesia and the Phillipines. (Although I'm unsure whether the Phillipines deal is actually signed off yet.)

Original post

Member for

11 years 1 month

Posts: 783

if this happens... it could be the first of a flood of orders.

All the "little countries" needing simple air patrol duties will be dumping their F5/MiG21 and other assorted cold-war era planes and getting these as replacement. Since USA, Russia, EU no longer offer a true low cost fighter anymore... even the last J7 is off the production line now, so expect the JF17 / T50 to really take off in the next few years.

Mexico - looking to retire F5 and T33
Philipines - almost certain
Iraq - almost certain now that the L159 deal is cancelled
Singapore - possibility for replacing remaining F5s
Libya - maybe to rebuild their air force from scratch
Vietnam - to replace their MiG21s... why not? MiG35 would be too heavy, and they certainly won't buy JF17 :D
Iran - If sanctions get lifted, they'd want a hundred of these at least...
Morocco - low cost to augment their F16 / MF2000
DRC - their budget is going up now and they need some decent patrol fighters to cover east and west of the country.
Saudi Arabia - possibility?
Kuwait - Due to their parliament restricting defence spending, they could be a future customer?

and many others...

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14 years 8 months

Posts: 387

Iran won't get T/FA-50. period

Member for

13 years 5 months

Posts: 506

if this happens... it could be the first of a flood of

Singapore - possibility for replacing remaining F5s

.

Singapore ? They already replace their F-5 with F-15SG and F-16 Block 52...no place for FA-50..While their LIFT already used M-346..T-50 already history when that Italian LIFT beat them.

Member for

18 years 9 months

Posts: 13,432

if this happens... it could be the first of a flood of orders.

All the "little countries" needing simple air patrol duties will be dumping their F5/MiG21 and other assorted cold-war era planes and getting these as replacement. Since USA, Russia, EU no longer offer a true low cost fighter anymore... even the last J7 is off the production line now, so expect the JF17 / T50 to really take off in the next few years.

Mexico - looking to retire F5 and T33
Philipines - almost certain
Iraq - almost certain now that the L159 deal is cancelled
Singapore - possibility for replacing remaining F5s
Libya - maybe to rebuild their air force from scratch
Vietnam - to replace their MiG21s... why not? MiG35 would be too heavy, and they certainly won't buy JF17 :D
Iran - If sanctions get lifted, they'd want a hundred of these at least...
Morocco - low cost to augment their F16 / MF2000
DRC - their budget is going up now and they need some decent patrol fighters to cover east and west of the country.
Saudi Arabia - possibility?
Kuwait - Due to their parliament restricting defence spending, they could be a future customer?

and many others...


Mexico - good candidate for secondhand F-16. Came damn close to buying Gripen already. Not a shoo-in for F-50, but possible.
Saudi Arabia - not a chance. The future is Typhoon & F-15SA, with Hawk for training. Already ordered. No room for low-end fighters.
Singapore - Ananda's right.
Libya - don't need anything except refurbs of current aircraft in the short term, & will be able to afford high-end fighters once they've sorted themselves out. Well, if they do - & if they don't they may not buy anything.
Morocco - nothing needed for the time being.
DRC - what?!! Any order for supersonic jets would be entirely for officials to steal.

You missed out Tunisia.

Member for

11 years 1 month

Posts: 783

yeaa. I mean it was just a "quick list"... I guess you can add some other potentials to the list like:
Azerbaijan? (they have shown interest)
Thailand?
Ethiopia? (good possibility for a low end fighter)
Egypt? (though JF17 seems more likely)
Argentina? (though I reckon they'll probably end up buying a load of Kfirs)
Peru - they are already buying trainers from korea...

and many other potential buyers in developing countries... who knows, they may even get a sale in Eastern Europe if they offer a decent enough "package"... would have been interesting to see Romania or Bulgaria opting for it...

Member for

18 years 9 months

Posts: 13,432

Azerbaijan - Dunno. Maybe. But also reported as showing an interest in JF-17.
Thailand - It'd make a lot more sense to buy more Gripen, & a cheaper trainer to replace Alpha Jet & L-39 when necessary, but one never knows. There have been reports of interest.
Ethiopia - may stick with Sukhois. Range matters to Ethiopia.
Egypt - agree that JF-17 seems more likely, especially given the deterioration in relations with the USA
Argentina - Unlikely. The air force would hold out for something higher-end, & the budget will only be enough for low-end or second hand, so probably second hand, as you say.
Peru - Hmm. Possible. The MiG-29s & Mirage 2000 refurbishments should keep them going at least another ten years, but the Su-25s & A-37s seem to be struggling to stay airworthy, so maybe they could be bought with a view to them being supplemented in the future by a high-end replacement for the MiGs & Mirages.

E. European NATO countries want to piggy-back on logistics of allies, or have support close at hand. You can do that with F-16s or a European type (you can train in Sweden & be home every weekend), so they have a huge advantage.

Member for

17 years 7 months

Posts: 4,951

Su-25 engines are the weak point of keeping them airborne. The Su-39 update or the S-54 trainer would have kept production alive. Without new orders it made no sense to keep the production running a decade ago. Its not like the Chinese cloned it. The parts are running thin for everyone outside the larger clients.