In this article, we shall compare two fighter aircraft: the KA T-50 from Korea and the Tejas Mark 1 from India. Both fighter jets are unique in their long-term capability and combat power.

Tejas mark 1

The Tejas MK1 is an Indian aircraft with a single engine, a delta wing, and a light multirole fighter. It was created by the Aeronautical Development Agency. Within its class of modern supersonic combat aircraft, it is the smallest and lightest. Tejas is the second supersonic fighter created by HAL, and Tejas Mark2 is expected to be ready for serial production by 2026. Tejas Mark 1 currently has 65 percent by value and 75.5 percent by number of line replaceable units in 2022, according to indigenous content.

The Tejas’ design was completed in 1990 and has a short tailless compound delta wing with inherent relaxed static stability, making a digital FBW flight control system necessary for improved manoeuvrability. The design and system integration of the Tejas primarily made use of Dassault Breguet’s capabilities. According to the CAG, Tejas Mark1 is an IOC standard aircraft. Some of these shortcomings, and lack of combat endurance, were resolved in the Tejas Mark1 FOC configuration. The upgraded Tejas Mark 1A will have a reduced turnaround time. Tejas Mark 1A’s design work is progressing, and subsystem testing will be finished by 2021, according to HAL Chairman  Director R Madhavan.

A Tejas Mk1a costs $43 million, and it has successfully tested firing the Python-5 high off-bore sight (HOBS) and close combat missile, further validating the upgraded I-Derby ER capabilities. Tejas Mark 1 BVR missiles are BVRAAM capable, having a generally expanded flight envelope and had greater angle of attack. It used UTTAM AESA radar, which has a range of 150–200 km and it can track an object of 2 msq.

The Tejas Mark 1A, a modified version of the Tejas Mark 1, will contain an AESA radar, a new digital flight control computer, a new electronic warfare suite, and updated avionics. Tejas is an eight-hard point precision weapon launcher that can accommodate a variety of air-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, unguided rockets, and conventional/retarded bombs. Tejas MK1 is better combat fighter than Korean Kai FA-50.

Korean kai T-50 golden eagle 

The Kai T-50 Golden Eagle is a South Korean advanced supersonic jet trainer that was created in collaboration with Lockheed Martin. It is also a light combat aircraft and  nation’s first supersonic aircraft. In 2005, the aircraft started flight operations with the ROKAF. The TA-50 light attack aircraft and the FA-50 light combat aircraft are now part of the programme, which originally included trainers. KAI has confirmed that it has been given a contract to provide Indonesia with another batch of T-50s in July 2021.

TA-50 now features a triple-redundant digital fly by wire, which is one step less than that quadruplex fly by wire. The T-50 Golden Eagle design is substantially based on the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and they share several similarities. They both use a single General Electric F404-102 turbofan engine, licenced to Samsung Techwin and improved with a FADEC system jointly developed by General Electric and KAI.

The price of a T/A-50 is $30 million, but this price does not include the integration of the missile that the countries are desiring, as a result the price will typically be in the Tejas range or even higher. The T-50 employs ELTA 2032 radar, which has a tuning difference and a 150km range for 5msq. The NEOS used in the T-50 is the first avionics operating system and the only real-time operating system created by an Asian business. It is certified by both IEEE POSIX and DO178B.

An ELTA EL/M-2032 fire control radar is included with the TA-50 variant. The T-50 is outfitted with an HG9550 radar and a Honeywell H-764G embedded global positioning/inertial navigation system. Since this is a training aircraft, just a few missiles have been installed, however they have committed to do the bare minimum missiles.