T

wo T-50i training fighter jets ordered by the Defense Ministry from the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) arrived at Iswahyudi Air Force base in Maospati district, Magetan regency, East Java, on Wednesday.

The aircraft were ordered to strengthen Indonesia'€™s primary weapons defense system.

'€œTwo out of 16 aircraft ordered have arrived,'€ said Air Force Operational Command II commander Vice Marshal Agus Supriatna in Magetan, as reported by kompas.com on Thursday.

He said the remaining 14 fighter jets would arrive in stages every two weeks. It was hoped that all T-50i Golden Eagle aircraft would arrive at Squadron 15 of Iswahyudi Air Base by the end of 2013.

According to Agus, the T-50i Golden Eagle jets will replace dozens of Hawk Mk-53 aircraft bought by the government in the 1980s, of which only two are still operating.

'€œThe Hawk Mk-53 will not be used anymore because they are already old and it'€™s getting difficult for us to get their spare parts. Even if available, they are very expensive,'€ said Agus.

He said all of the T-50i Golden Eagle would be used to train fresh graduates from aviation schools before they operated fighter jets such as Sukhoi, F-16, F-5 or Hawk 100/200.

Agus further explained that the T-50i Golden Eagle aircraft were equipped with weapon systems that could be used in various missions.

Among the weapons systems are AIM-9 Sidewinder, MK-82 bom, BDU-33, AGM-65 Maverick, MK-20 cluster bomb and JDAM smart bomb.