Appearance of the 'Eagle': Indonesia's Latest T-50i Fighter Jets for the Air Force

With the arrival of these four T-50i advanced trainer jets, the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) now possesses a total of 22 aircraft. Leading South Korean defence firm Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Ltd. announced it has successfully completed the delivery process of six additional T-50i advanced trainer jets for the Indonesian Air Force. The successful handover of these combat aircraft marks the completion of the latest delivery phase under the strategic defence cooperation between the two nations. Citing a report from The Korea Herald, KAI had previously signed an official contract to supply these additional T-50i jets to the Indonesian Air Force in 2021. The T-50i is a trainer jet jointly developed by South Korea and the American company Lockheed Martin. “After going through various technical preparation stages, the delivery process for the supersonic aircraft was rolled out in stages starting from February until it was declared complete in the middle of this month,” the South Korean media reported. The aircraft manufacturer first entered into an order agreement to supply 16 T-50i trainer jets to Indonesia in 2011. With the completion of the delivery of these six latest additional units, the total fleet of T-50i aircraft delivered to strengthen Indonesia’s military now officially stands at 22 units. Indonesia holds a historic record as the first overseas customer in the world to purchase and operate the export variant of South Korea’s first domestically built supersonic trainer jet. Cumulatively, Indonesia has acquired a total of 42 fighter aircraft made in South Korea, a figure that includes 20 KT-1 basic trainer aircraft already in operation.