KAI, Air Force Hold International Meeting with Countries Operating Korean Aircraft

15th K-TCG and 9th SMG International Meetings Held

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and the Republic of Korea Air Force announced on October 22 that they held plenary meetings of the Korean Aircraft International Technical Cooperation Group (K-TCG) and the Safety Management Group (SMG) in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, from October 21 to 23.

Officials attending a meeting of the Korea Technical Coordination Group (K-TCG) for domestically developed aircraft pose for a commemorative photo. Korea Aerospace Industries

The international meetings of the K-TCG and SMG, organized by the Air Force with support from KAI, are regarded as helping to develop cooperation between the Air Force and countries operating Korean aircraft, strengthen confidence in those aircraft, and expand exports.

About 140 domestic participants from the Air Force, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, KAI, Hanwha Aerospace, LIG D&A, and other organizations attended the meetings. They were joined by about 24 overseas participants from six countries that operate Korean aircraft: Indonesia, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Thailand, and Türkiye.

Following opening remarks by Park Jong-un, commander of the Air Force Logistics Command and a major general, presentations covered the operational status of the K-TCG and SMG, logistics support strategies, and examples of improvements to the operation of Korean aircraft. KAI presented on "Ways to Use Aircraft RAM-C Analysis," which can help continuously improve the reliability of increasingly advanced modern weapon systems and reduce operating and maintenance costs through total life-cycle management. It also presented "FA-50 Sniper Targeting Pod Integration," a best-practice example of performance upgrades to FA-50 aircraft operated by the Air Force and member countries.

That day, participants visited the Sacheon Airshow venue and watched test flights of Korean aircraft. On October 23, they are also scheduled to share outstanding issues and discuss them in separate meetings by country and aircraft type.

Song Ho-cheol, KAI executive vice president and head of the Production Operations Division, said, "This meeting is a valuable opportunity to share operational experience, improvement cases, and challenges with countries that operate Korean aircraft. By presenting performance upgrade cases and strengthening cooperation, we can improve confidence in Korean aircraft and create opportunities to expand export markets in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.