South Korea and the Philippines signed an agreement for Seoul to provide an additional 12 FA-50 multipurpose fighter jets worth around 700 million U.S. dollars.

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration(DAPA) on Wednesday, Korea Aerospace Industries(KAI) signed the deal with the Philippine Department of National Defense in Manila the previous day.

DAPA said it is the country’s largest defense industry export deal this year.

The Southeast Asian country bought 12 FA-50s in 2014 and is thought to have decided on the additional purchase as its Air Force highly regards the quality of the jet, which KAI co-developed with Lockheed Martin.

Previously, Seoul shipped 18 FA-50s to Malaysia in May 2023 and has exported over 140 jets to six countries, the others being Indonesia, Thailand, Iraq and Poland.