KAI offers FA-50 Aircraft to Thailand, and also revealed KF-21 Price and Operating Cost

Powered by RedCircle

Early last Month of March 2024, News Reports came out that Thailand intended to retire a Squadron of their F-16C Fighting Falcon Aircraft and replace them likely with the JAS-39E/F Gripen, and that they plan to initially acquire four of them for Usd 530 million, or approximately Usd 132.5 million per Aircraft.

In light of that development, the South Korean Manufacturer "Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)" is offering Thailand to buy their FA-50 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) instead. KAI said that for that Price, Thailand could buy eight FA-50s instead of just four Gripen E/Fs. 

KAI also cited that the familiarity with the FA-50 Family of Aircraft as an additional advantage since Thailand already bought several of their T-50TH Aircraft which is the Trainer Variant of the FA-50. 

At the same time, KAI also revealed that the Price of their new KF-21 Boramae Fighter Aircraft will be Usd 80 million each, and that it's Maintenance Cost will be around Usd 14,000 per Flight Hour. 

That Usd 80 million will just be the Base Price though if Countries buy them because there will be a number of Mandatory Purchases that KAI will charge if it is bought, which at the minimum would be something like Training Expenses, Equipment unique to the servicing of the Aircraft and some Spare Parts and Maintenance Expenses. 

But even if another Usd 10 to 20 million is added to the Price for those, that will still be a pretty reasonable Price for a brand new Aircraft Design. 

As for the Maintenance Costs, the Usd 14,000 per Hour cost is much higher actually compared to the Cost Per Flight Hour (CPFH) estimate made by the Defense Publication "Jane's" back in 2012 for the JAS-39C/F Gripen which was at only Usd 4,700 per Hour, or the F-16C Fighting Falcon which was at only Usd 7,000 per Hour.

The Boramae's per Hour Cost is actually closer but lower than that of the "Rafale" which was at Usd 16,500 per Hour and the "Eurofighter Typhoon" which was at Usd 18,000 per Hour based on the same Study. 

SOURCES:

* Korea Aerospace Industries proposes to sell FA50 Light Fighters to Royal Thai Air Force {Archived Link}

* Fast Jet Operating Costs: Cost per Flight Hour Study of Selected Aircraft {Archived Link}

Check out the Links to my other Social Media Accounts at https://linktr.ee/rhk111

Don’t forget to click on the Ads or to donate to help support this Website. 

KAI offers FA-50 Aircraft to Thailand, and also revealed KF-21 Price and Operating Costs