President Park Geun-hye and other senior government and military officials attended a ceremony on Thursday to commemorate the launch of the FA-50 light combat aircraft at the Wonju Air Base in Gangwon Province.
 
The FA-50 is South Korea's first indigenously developed fighter jet produced with the platform for the T-50 advanced trainer.
 
The Air Force said the FA-50 can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.5 and can load basic weapons such as air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles as well as precision-guided weapons of up to four-point-five tons.
 
The FA-50 will be deployed to three battalions, replacing the aging F-5 combat planes.