(LEAD) S. Korea, Poland clinch bilateral agreement on military airworthiness certification

▲ A fleet of FA-50 light combat aircraft is lined up at a Polish air base in Minsk Mazowiecki, in this photo provided by Korea Aerospace industries, South Korea's fighter jet maker, on Jan. 2, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Poland-airworthiness certification

(LEAD) S. Korea, Poland clinch bilateral agreement on military airworthiness certification

(ATTN: UPDATES with KAI's delivery of FA-50s in last para; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Poland have clinched a deal to launch a mutual recognition process for military airworthiness certification, Seoul's defense procurement agency said Tuesday.

Representatives from Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Polish defense ministry signed the bilateral agreement on airworthiness, a key measure of a plane's suitability for safe flight.

Under the mutual recognition process, Warsaw will recognize Seoul's airworthiness certification for South Korean-made planes and vice versa, according to DAPA.

Poland is the fifth signatory of the mutual recognition process following the United States, Spain, France and Australia.

DAPA expressed hope that the agreement would pave the way for boosting South Korea's defense industry cooperation with Poland and fighter jet exports in Europe.

In September 2022, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a deal to export 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft to Poland. KAI said Tuesday it completed the delivery of 12 of the aircraft last year and plans to deliver the rest of them between 2025 and 2028.

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