On Friday, September 26, 2025, the South Korean company Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) responded to allegations made in a report broadcast on September 23 by the state television KBS News regarding the previous management and the contract for FA-50 light combat aircraft for Poland.
The prototype FA-50, serving as a platform for testing solutions that will be incorporated into the Polish FA-50PL / Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
A statement sent to the editorial office of the MILMAG portal:
“With regard to the information concerning the report by Korean broadcaster KBS, Korea Aerospace Industries declares that the inspiration for this material was internal political disputes in Korea, and the company was used in this context as a tool.
In Korea, the entire KBS report is causing controversy. The material was largely based on false information provided by one of the company’s former vice presidents. KAI is considering taking legal action against this person for disclosing confidential information and manipulating facts in a way that harms the company’s reputation.
Below we address the key points raised in the report concerning the FA-50 program for Poland:
- The matter of the timing of U.S. government approval for integrating the AIM-9X missile and delivering the GPS module to the FA-50PL platform is classified. However, we emphasize that any delays are not the fault of either KAI or the Polish client. The governments of the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Poland are cooperating to find the best solutions to these issues.
- Regarding integration of the AIM-9X missile with the FA-50PL, taking into account the required U.S. government approvals, the choice of the American AESA radar [PhantomStrike – ed.] was the optimal decision. The Korean radar [ESR-500A – ed.] had not yet been developed at that time, and there are no indications that its selection for the FA-50PL would have shortened the overall program schedule for the Polish version of the aircraft.
- KAI is negotiating with the Polish side on updating the FA-50PL delivery schedule – both parties are striving to develop an optimal solution to this matter, taking circumstances into account.
KAI guarantees the highest quality of its aircraft and their sustainment after delivery to customers. The projects for Poland, which we regard as an honor, are carried out with full commitment and diligence, in constant and close cooperation with the Polish client. Regardless of political events in Korea, we remain focused on doing our best work for all our customers.”
Although the first media reports of a delay in FA-50PL deliveries (which were to begin in November 2025) by a year and a half appeared in May of this year, Brig. Gen. Pil. Sławomir Mąkosa, Assistant to the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, clarified during yesterday’s meeting of the Standing Subcommittee on the Polish Defense Industry and Technical Modernization of the Polish Armed Forces under the Sejm National Defense Committee (SKON) that deliveries of 36 upgraded FA-50PL Block 20 aircraft are scheduled for 2026–2028: 12 units in 2026, 12 in 2027, and 12 in 2028, thus earlier than claimed by Korean media.
Already at the end of last year, KAI informed the MILMAG editorial office that the first Polish FA-50PL would make its maiden flight in November 2025, so naturally deliveries cannot begin immediately afterward.
On September 16, 2022, Poland ordered 12 FA-50GF Block 10 aircraft worth approx. 705 million USD net (3.36 billion PLN net / 4.14 billion PLN gross), which have already been delivered, as well as the aforementioned 36 FA-50PL Block 20 aircraft worth 2.3 billion USD net (10.88 billion PLN net / 13.38 billion PLN gross), originally scheduled for delivery in 2025–2028. The FA-50GF aircraft are later to be converted to the FA-50PL configuration.
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