Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, FORT WORTH, Texas: The T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer successfully completed aerial gunfire testing recently. The T-50 Golden Eagle is being developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) with technical support from Lockheed Martin.
Ten test flights were conducted between Oct. 26, 2004, and Jan. 6, 2005, with gun firing conducted under a variety of flight conditions, including three supersonic flights. Testing included operation of the gun and ammo handling system, plus measurement of vibration levels and adequacy of the gun bay gas purging capability.
“The gun fire testing went very well,” said Maj. Kang, Chol, one of the ROKAF test pilots for the gun firing missions. “As expected, the acoustic and airframe vibrations were very acceptable and low from the pilot's perspective in both front and rear cockpits. The flight test instrumentation also confirmed low vibration levels.”
The test aircraft was the third Full Scale Development aircraft, the first in the lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) configuration. The LIFT version bridges the gap between initial pilot training and operational training and differs from the T-50 advanced jet trainer version with the addition of a multimode radar, gun and a full weapons control system to the seven store stations.
The gun is an internally mounted, three-barrel, Gatling-type 20 mm cannon with a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute and is built by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. The ammo system holds 205 rounds of ammunition. It is a lighter weight version of the standard six-barrel M61 gun used on many fighters. The gun will be used for both ground strafing and aerial gunnery training.
The T-50 flight test program is approximately 70 percent complete, with more than 800 flights completed since the start of flight testing in August 2002.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The T-50 is the only supersonic trainer in development or production. It has the performance, handling qualities, cockpit and advanced systems necessary to train pilots to fly both today's advanced fighters and the next generation of combat aircraft.
The T-50 Golden Eagle is being developed by KAI for the ROKAF. Lockheed Martin is providing technical expertise for the FSD program and is responsible for developing the T-50 avionics system, flight control system and wings. KAI and Lockheed Martin have an agreement for joint international marketing of the T-50. The program entered the transition-to-production phase with initial contract from the ROKAF awarded to KAI in December 2003. The first production aircraft is expected to be delivered in late 2005.
Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. is the Republic of Korea's national aerospace company, established in 1999 with the consolidation of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries and Hyundai Space and Aircraft Co. KAI lines of business include fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter aircraft and satellites. Its major products are the KF-16, KT-1 basic trainer, T-50, SB427 helicopters, UAVs, aerostructures and KOMPSAT satellite program.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., a business area of Lockheed Martin, is a leader in the design, research and development, systems integration, production and support of advanced military aircraft and related technologies. Its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin Corp. employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2004 sales of $35.5 billion.
