Sacheon: Senior Air Force officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have toured the manufacturing and development facilities for South Korea's next-generation KF-21 jets, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) said Thursday. The UAE delegation, led by Maj. Gen. Rashed Mohammed A. Al Shamsi, commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence, visited KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, 291 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on the previous day, according to KAI. They observed the production lines for the KF-21 fighter jet and the FA-50 light attack aircraft.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Brig. Gen. Azzan Ali Abdulazeez Alsharhan Alnuaimi, head of the UAE's Air Force Warfare Center, took part in a test flight aboard a KF-21 prototype. Their visit was part of expanding military cooperation between Seoul and Abu Dhabi. Under a preliminary agreement signed during the tour, the UAE Air Force will be allowed to observe air drills involving the KF-21 and visit South Korean units that will operate the fighter jet, KAI said. The KF-21 is set to be delivered to the South's Air Force next year.