Korea counts down to FX-III

SOUTH KOREA IS PREPARING to finalise its $7.2-billion FX-III fighter competition. A decision on the 60-aircraft tender is due in October. The three contenders submitted proposals in June, with the Boeing F-15SE, Lockheed Martin F-35 find Eurofighter Typhoon all in the running. However, the Lockheed Martin and Eurofighter bids had to be re-submitted by 5 July due to a need for additional

translations in to be added to the formal bids. Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) will then begin a process of review and evaluation that will last into September.

On-site performance tests were to be held in June for the F-35, in August for the F-15SE and in September for the Typhoon. With the F-35 fleet tied up on test work and no two-seat variant available, South Korea has been offered Manned Tactical Simulator test flights instead, a move criticised by some Korean observers.

Local media report that officials in Seoul are unhappy that their test pilots will not be able to fly the F-35. Meanwhile, it has been suggested that the evaluation phase might be extended, with a final decision perhaps to come in early 2013, by which time a new administration will have taken office.

EADS has announced that it will offer South Korea a local manufacturing facility for the Typhoon in order to maximise the technology transfer contained in its bid. Boeing has also offered the chance for the Conformal Weapons Bays to be manufactured in Korea.

In related news, South Korea has requested the sale of the CBU-105D/B Wind Corrected Munition Dispenser (WCMD) from the US government. The request includes 367 CBU-105D/B WCMD weapons valued at $325 million.

Continue reading here: Harrier vs Yak-38

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