F-35 fighter

By Lee Tae-hoon

Latest reports indicate that Lockheed Martin’s F-35, the only available stealth jet offered on the market, will be too expensive to purchase for Korea as it far exceeds the country’s budget estimate.

U.S. Navy Vice Admiral David Venlet, head of the Pentagon’s F-35 program office, admitted early this month that the price of the fifth-generation jet will temporarily rise due to a U.S. decision to delay the purchase of 179 F-35s beyond 2017.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s 2012 budget estimate forecasts the flyaway cost (airframe and engine) of an F-35 at $151 million. The National Assembly here approved a budget last year on the assumption that the flyaway cost would be around $88.1 million (99.1 billion won).

Seoul has set aside 8.29 trillion won ($7.3 billion), or $121.7 million per aircraft, to replace an aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighter jets with 60 advanced multirole combat aircraft with the timeline for its initial deployment of 2016.

An Assembly review for 2012 defense spending estimated that it would cost 6.932 trillion won to procure the bare bones of an F-35, noting that it would be the cheapest aircraft among three contenders for the Korean market.

It concluded that the price of the Typhoon from the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company and the F-15 Silent Eagle from Boeing would be about 7.781 trillion won and 8.352 trillion won, respectively

The 8.29 trillion won budget includes the cost of logistic support and a package of items to operate them, such as a pilot training system, mission equipment and ammunition.

The Canadian Parliamentary Budget Office issued a report that forecasted the average unit acquisition cost of the F-35 will be approximately $128 million, excluding upgrades and overhauls.

If the figures prove to be correct, Seoul will have no choice but to rule out the F-35 from the ongoing jet procurement bid.

Meanwhile, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. John Thompson, deputy program executive officer for the F-35 program, said the development program for the fighter had been extended by two years to at least 2017.

“We are still five to six years away from the end of our development program and we are only 20 per cent through our flight test program,” he was quoted as saying by media reports.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration has warned that it will disqualify any of the three aircraft manufacturers that cannot meet the timetable for delivery.