The Dawn of the TA50 Tactical Lead-In Fighter
On the day of the test evaluation for the TA50 Tactical Lead-In Fighter, a modified version of the T50 Advanced Trainer, VIPs from the Ministry of National Defense and the Air Force gathered at Starlink Aviation. CEO Cho Yoon-je and Taesik welcomed the guests, who arrived with high expectations that the advanced trainer, developed in collaboration with the American firm Lockseed, would be reborn as a formidable fighter jet.
Major General Choi Young-gyu and Colonel Jang Woo-chul, whom Taesik had met during the development of the Switchblade, were also in attendance and approached Taesik.
"Major General Choi, thank you for your help with the acquisition of Korea Aviation in the past. Thanks to you, Starlink now possesses a systems integration firm, allowing us to seamlessly apply the weapons and components developed by each of our subsidiaries."
"Not at all. All I did was submit an opinion that the company, which had been taken over by parachuted political appointees, should be sold to the private sector. In the end, wasn't it you, Representative, who acquired Starlink Aviation through public bidding? More importantly, CEO Cho mentioned there would be something special today, aside from the TA50 test evaluation... What is it?"
"If I reveal it now, it loses its mystery. You'll find out soon enough. Besides, we will need the cooperation of the Ministry of National Defense and the Air Force."
"Hahaha. I was hoping to get a small hint out of curiosity, but you're keeping it under wraps. I'll see it for myself during the main event."
Taesik joined CEO Cho in greeting the general-grade VIPs, shaking hands before moving to the podium and taking a seat near the prepared monitors. Starlink Defense CEO Park In-tak also busied himself attending to the VIPs he knew, guiding them to their seats.
CEO Cho Yoon-je took the lead in conducting the event.
"I welcome all the distinguished guests who have attended today's TA50 Tactical Lead-In Fighter test evaluation. I will begin with an introduction to the aircraft."
As Cho began explaining the aircraft's specifications, the attendees showed little curiosity, as they were already familiar with the T50 Advanced Trainer. Since the Air Force had already conducted the basic test evaluation, and today's event was primarily to commemorate its conclusion, everyone was looking to see if there was anything beyond what was already known.
Observing the mood of the attendees, Cho began to mention details known only to those involved.
"While the T50 is currently equipped with a mechanical radar, the TA50 is fitted with an AESA radar. Compared to mechanical radar, the AESA radar can identify multiple ground and aerial targets, and its detection range and coverage are significantly wider. Furthermore, it grants the ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously."
Starlink and the Air Force Headquarters had kept the installation of the latest AESA radar on the T50 a secret during the test evaluation, and they were highly satisfied with the TA50's performance, which far exceeded that of the F16s currently in operation.
Seeing the attendees' interest in the AESA radar, Cho initiated the prepared scenario.
"To simulate an aerial combat engagement, we have prepared a mock dogfight with F16 and F15K fighters, with the cooperation of the Air Force."
The attendees were astonished to hear that the TA50, introduced to teach aerial combat techniques, would be conducting a mock dogfight. As the TA50 and F16 took off from a nearby Air Force base and headed in opposite directions, CEO Cho explained the scenario.
"The TA50 and the F16 will fly in opposite directions, each heading to a point 150km away. We have designed the scenario so that they meet over Sacheon Airport without knowing each other's approach direction. The key is which aircraft detects the other first. For safety, we will consider the one that detects the opponent first as the winner."
The two aircraft flew in opposite directions, approaching the Sacheon area from the directions chosen by their pilots. On the podium, the voices of the pilots from both aircraft could be heard simultaneously.
"Commencing mission."
At the controller's radio command, both pilots shouted "Roger" to signal the start of the mission. The Air Force radar base radioed the positions of the two aircraft.
"TA50 is approaching from the South Sea, F16 is approaching from the Jirisan direction!"
Since the attendees could not see the radar screens directly, they focused on the voices coming from the speakers. Both pilots focused on their displays, concentrating on the radar to find the other's position. A moment later, the voice of the TA50 pilot came through.
"This is TA50, mock enemy detected 140km ahead! Lock On!"
The TA50 pilot radioed that he had detected the F16 and waited for the opponent to enter the range of his virtual AIM9 missiles. The F16 pilot, unable to identify the TA50, continued to fly toward Sacheon. Then, the voice of the radar control officer was heard.
"Distance between both aircraft is 60km!"
Even as the distance closed, the F16 failed to locate the TA50. As the F16 entered within 40km, the TA50 pilot shouted that he had fired his missiles. The attendees were stunned by the TA50's detection capabilities, which were vastly superior to the F16's, and CEO Cho gave instructions to contact the cooperating Air Force base.
"The recently introduced F15K will take off shortly. We will conduct a mock dogfight in the same manner."
With a roar, the F15K rose into the sky. To ensure fairness, this time the TA50 turned its nose toward Jirisan, while the F15K headed toward the South Sea airspace. The attendees watched with skeptical expressions, wondering if it was even possible to compare it to the recently introduced F15K, and focused on the voices from the speakers.
The Air Force radar officer announced that the distance between the two was 250km and declared the start of the engagement. Both pilots shouted "Roger" and focused on their radar to confirm each other's positions. Not long after, the TA50 pilot's voice was heard.
"This is TA50, mock enemy detected 160km ahead! Lock On!"
The attendees looked bewildered, hearing that the TA50, not the F15K, had locked on first. A moment later, the F15K pilot's voice came through.
"This is F15K, mock enemy detected 110km ahead! Lock On!"
Both aircraft waited to fire their missiles until they were within the range of their virtual AIM9 missiles. As the distance between them closed to within 40km, they both shouted.
"AIM9 launch!"
The participants were amazed by the TA50's ability to detect the F15K before being detected itself.
"That means if the TA50 were armed with Meteor or AMRAAM missiles instead of just air-to-air training weapons, it could score a kill!"
"That's right! It means we could easily secure air superiority just by having long-range air-to-air missiles."
"We're going to have to completely re-evaluate our missile import plans..."
While the attendees exchanged opinions, CEO Cho took the microphone again.
"After refueling the TA50, we will conduct a formation flight. Please enjoy the refreshments provided on the left side of the podium."
Stunned by the unexpectedly superior performance of the AESA radar, the attendees called CEO Cho back to the microphone.
"Is it possible to install the AESA radar on the F16 and F15K?"
"We believe that the F16 can be equipped with an AESA radar if its performance is upgraded with digital components. However, our judgment is that the F15K cannot be equipped with it due to contractual relations with Boeing in the United States. Once the licensing issues are resolved, it can be installed at any time. An AESA radar suitable for the F15K class has already been developed."
"As far as I know, the TA50 also has contract issues with Lockseed..."
"The contract issue with Lockseed has been resolved through direct negotiations by CEO Kim Taesik."
"Earlier, the missile launch was delayed because of the range of the air-to-air missiles rather than the radar. Are there plans to equip it with AIM120 AMRAAM or Meteor missiles?"
"Currently, the AIM120 AMRAAM missile can be mounted on the TA50. Lockseed has agreed to modify the weapon management computer."
The officers in charge of weapon acquisition turned pale, requesting detailed data and stating that they needed to immediately revise the mid-term plans they were currently drafting. CEO Cho replied that he would provide the data whenever the Ministry of National Defense requested it.
While the Q&A continued, a new TA50 took off alongside the refueled one. The attendees looked puzzled as they watched the formation flight.
"What on earth is that? Why are they showing us a formation flight?"
Amidst the murmurs, CEO Cho turned the microphone back on.
"Now, we will have a demonstration of the guided bombs developed by Starlink Defense."
"The most common bomb held by the Korean Air Force is the 500-pound MK82 bomb, and for ground attacks, close-range strikes are required. Starlink Aviation, together with Defense, has developed a guided bomb by attaching a guidance kit to the MK82."
Ministry of National Defense officials, seeing something they had not been briefed on, focused on CEO Cho's words with curious eyes.
"The KGGB guided bomb has a range of 100km and can be GPS-guided, with an error margin of less than 1 meter. Compared to the American-developed JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), which costs 30 million won, the price of our guidance kit is around 100 million won. However, the range is more than 2.5 times greater."
"For safety, all explosives have been removed from the KGGB guided bomb, and we plan to drop the bombs on a barge in the sea off Sacheon Airport as a target."
While he was explaining the KGGB guided bomb, a radio message came in from the pilots.
"TA50 #1 and #2 ready for launch!"
The attendees looked confused as the pilot radioed that he was ready instead of the other TA50 aircraft, and they focused on the TV prepared next to the podium. Starlink Aviation had installed a camera where the barge was visible to show the attendees the barge in real-time.
"KGGB guided bomb launch!"
Simultaneously with the radio call, the two TA50 aircraft dropped the guided bombs mounted on their pylons, and the aircraft wobbled as they stabilized. The dropped guided bombs spread their wings and began to glide, and a technician in the rear seat of the TA50 filmed the gliding KGGB bomb.
A moment later, the KGGBs arrived at the barge off Sacheon Airport, lowered their altitude, and plunged toward the barge, piercing the deck. The other bomb that arrived shortly after pierced the same spot, punching through the barge. The barge was devastatingly dismantled, and CEO Cho instructed the staff to replace the real-time feed with a recording, while observing the reaction of the attendees.
Seeing the barge being dismantled on the real-time screen, the attendees applauded and cheered, and began asking CEO Cho questions to satisfy their curiosity.