Turkey will buy 55 Korean-made basic KT-1 trainer jets.

Korea Aerospace Industries signed Sunday a sales contract worth 500 million dollars with the Turkish government. The delivery of the planes will be completed by 2013.

Developed in 1988 in cooperation with the Agency for Defense Development, KT-1 trainers have a maximum speed of 574 kilometers per hour and can perform acrobatic maneuvers.

Korea had sold the trainers to Indonesia.

Korea Aerospace Industries said the jets' selling points are good performance and low maintenance costs. The company said it will more actively tap overseas markets and export more of its ultrasonic advanced trainer jets like the T-50.