Singapore Airshow 2014: AVIC offering L-15 as AJT alternative
Jon Grevatt, Singapore - IHS Jane's Defence Industry
11 February 2014
The China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) is offering the HAIC L-15 advanced jet trainer (AJT) to Asian countries as a cost-effective alternative to more expensive but similarly capable AJT competitors, a senior CATIC official told IHS Jane's on 11 February at the Singapore Airshow.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that CATIC - the export arm of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) - was pursuing export opportunities for the L-15 AJT in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.
He also confirmed that the first customer of the L-15 is Zambia, which ordered six aircraft in late 2012 to augment the Zambian Air Force's operation of 16 HAIC K-8 Karakoram intermediate jet trainers procured in two batches over the past decade.
