The F-35 Lightening II stealth fighter developed by Lockheed Martin of the United States is one potential aircraft that could meet South Korea’s needs for its F-X III program, which will be delayed by one year to 2012. / Courtesy of Lockeed Martin |
Budget constraints, post-Cheonan priority readjustment blamed
By Jung Sung-ki
A major fighter jet acquisition program originally scheduled for 2011 is likely to be pushed back by a year due to budget constraints and a readjustment of priorities in the wake of the sinking of the frigate Cheonan on March 26, according to defense officials Wednesday.
Air Force officials and defense experts are worried that the country’s fighter modernization efforts could be compromised despite growing calls here to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4E and F-5E/F aircraft. These planes have been involved in several fatal crashes in recent years.
The third phase F-X fighter acquisition competition for 40 to 60 advanced stealth aircraft was to have started next year with a final contract in 2012, following the first two stages of obtaining 60 F-15K aircraft built by U.S. aerospace giant Boeing.
If delayed, a contract could be sealed as early as 2013 and the delivery of aircraft would start after 2016.
According to a senior official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) made a decision to postpone the F-X program after consultations with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
The JCS, which is authorized to decide on arms improvement requirements for the Army, Navy and Air Force, instead wants to spend more money to purchase and develop weapons systems to cope with North Korea’s asymmetrical and irregular warfare, the official said.
“The JCS believes that the purchase and development of weapons systems, such as attack helicopters, cruise and ballistic missiles, next-generation tanks and armored vehicles, and heavy attack submarines, will be more feasible in defending against North Korean provocation than the 9 trillion won ($7.5 billion) F-X program,” the official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
The JCS has submitted its budget proposal for next year to the finance ministry ahead of the opening of the National Assembly regular session Wednesday, he said.
An Air Force officer expressed disappointment with the decision.
“Obviously, it’s bad news for fighter jet pilots,” the officer said. “Fighter modernization efforts have already been delayed for several years. So it’s not clear now if we could achieve the goal of replacing the older fleet of F-4s and F-5s with newer jets by 2020.”
The Air Force is decommissioning some of its 250 McDonnell Douglas F-4Es and Northrop F-5 E/Fs, most of which were introduced 30 or more years ago.
But the decommissioning has been slow since the F-X program and a KF-X project to develop an indigenous combat aircraft did not proceed mainly because of the smaller increases in the defense budget in recent years.
On June 18, an F-5 jet crashed into the sea off the coast of Gangneung in Gangwon Province on its way back from a routine training mission. Since 2000, eight F-5s have crashed, claiming the lives of 13 pilots.
F-5 fighters account for 35 percent or 170 of South Korea’s 480-strong fighter fleet.
The KF-X program is aimed at locally developing an aircraft similar to the U.S. F-16 in cooperation with foreign partners. The Seoul government plans to produce about 200 KF-X planes after 2020.
On July 15, Indonesia agreed to join the KF-X development plan and bear 20 percent of the initial budget of $8 billion to build an advanced fighter based on a Western aircraft platform. The Southeast Asian nation will buy 50 aircraft when mass production starts.
South Korea intends to bear 60 percent of the development costs, and is seeking to invite more foreign nations and companies to cover the remainder.
[단독] 3차 F-X전투기 사업 연기될 듯
예산부족, 천안함 사태 이후 전력소요 재조정
정성기 기자
내년 착수 예정이던 전투기 구매 사업이 예산문제와 천안함 사태 이후 전력증강 사업 순위 재조정에 따라 연기될 전망이다.
공군 관계자들은 3차 사업의 순연으로 인해서 공군 전력증강 계획에 차질을 빚을 것을 우려하고 있다. 더욱이 최근 수년간 공군의 노후 F-4/5기종의 사고가 잇따르는 가운데 공군력 현대화 작업이 절실하다는 입장이다.
당초 정부는 1.2차 사업을 통해 60대의 F-15K를 구매한 이후 40-60대의 신형 전투기를 구매할 목적으로 내년 3차 F-X사업을 추진해 왔다. 사업 시작이 1년 늦어질 경우 최종계약은 빨라야 2013년 이뤄진 후 실제 전투기 인도는 2016년 이후에나 이뤄질 것이란 전망이다.
방사청 고위 관계자에 따르면 합동참모본부는 이미 F-X사업을 순연하기로 결정하고 지경부와 협의를 마친 상태다.
이 관계자는 합참은 대신 북한의 비대칭.비정규전력 대비 전력 증강 계획에 예산투입을 고려하고 있다고 전했다.
그는 “합참은 9조가 넘는 F-X사업보다 공격헬기, 순항.탄도미사일, 차기전차, 중형 잠수함 등의 북한 도발 대비 전력에 예산 투자하는 것이 더 효과적이다라고 판단하고 있다”라고 말했다.
합참은 최근 이와 같은 전력 증강 예산안을 국회 개회에 앞서 기획재정부에 제출한 것으로 알려진다.
한 공군 관계자는 “전투기 파일럿들이 매우 실망할 것”이라며 “공군 전투기 사업은 이미 수년간 지연되어 왔기 때문에, 이번에 또다시 연기된다면 2020년까지 노후 F-4/5를 대체하겠다던 당초의 계획이 실현될지 의문이다”라고 말했다.
현재 공군은 250여대의 F-4E기종과 F-5E/F기종을 운용하고 있지만 대부분 도입후 30여년이 지난 노후 기종들이다. 이 기종들의 도태 작업은 F-X사업과 KF-X 한국형 전투기 개발 사업의 순연과 함께 지연되고 있는 실정이다.
지난 6월 18일 F-5 한대가 강릉 앞바다에 추락했다. 2000년 이후F-5추락 사고는 총 8번 있었으며 모두 13명의 조종사들이 생명을 잃었다. F-5는 현재 공군전력의 35 퍼센트를 차지하고 있다. KF-X 보라매 전투기 사업은 F-16플러스 급의 전투기를 국제 공동개발해 200여대의 전투기 생산을 목표로 하고 있다.
|
yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
