 A prototype of the F-15 Silent Eagle, a new configuration with radar-evading stealth functions, is unveiled at Boeing’s F-15 manufacturing headquarters in St. Louis, the United States, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Boeing |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The U.S. Boeing Company unveiled a new F-15 Eagle fighter jet featuring radar-evading stealth technology Wednesday, announcing its bid for South Korea's third phase F-X fighter jet acquisition program, to begin by 2012.
Earlier, Seoul officials said the third phase program would focus on obtaining the so-called fifth-generation stealth fighters. The F-X aims to procure 120 high-end warplanes by 2020, and Boeing already won the previous two deals with its F-15K fighters.
Boeing officials said the forthcoming F-15 ``Silent Eagle (SE)'' could provide Korea's Air Force with ``cost-effective stealth'' technologies as well as the F-15 Eagle's traditional long-range, large-payload capabilities.
Brad G. Jones, program manager of Boeing's F-15 Future Programs, said in video briefing from St. Louis for Korean journalists in a Seoul hotel that his firm was ready to offer the F-15SE for Seoul's next phase F-X deal.
``Improvements in stealth include coatings and treatments on the aircraft,'' Jones said. ``With the added advantage of redesigned conformal fuel tanks (CTFs) that allow for internal weapons carriage, the Silent Eagle becomes a very attractive fighter for Boeing's international customers.''
Boeing has completed a conceptual prototype of the CFT internal-carriage concept and plans to flight-test a prototype by the first quarter of 2010, including a live missile launch, he said.
Besides South Korea, target customers for the F-15SE program include Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Israel, he added.
``The Silent Eagle will be able to internally carry air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 and AIM-120 and air-to-ground weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB),'' Jones said.
Other improvements include the digital flight control system, which improves the aircraft's reliability and reduces airframe weight, and a digital electronic warfare system working in concert with an advanced electronic scanning array radar, Boeing said in a news release.
The aircraft's canted vertical tails improve aerodynamic efficiency, provide lift, and reduce airframe weight, it said.
The F-35 Lightening II built by U.S. Lockheed Martin is often referred to as a viable candidate for the 60-plane, third-phase F-X program, as Lockheed's state-of-the-art F-22 Raptor may be out of Seoul's reach financially and is currently blocked from export.
The fifth-generation F-35, fitted with radar-evading stealth technology, is a single-seat, single-engine multi-role fighter jet that can perform close air support, tactical bombing and air defense missions.
Some experts, however, have raised questions about ``capability tradeoffs'' of full-stealth aircraft like the F-35 in range, payload, speed and other areas.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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