By Kang Seung-woo
EADS offered fast delivery of 40 Eurofighters to the Air Force, Wednesday, which will allow it to retire its aging fleet, saying that Lockheed Martin could not match such a timeline.
The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) made the offer at a news conference held by senior officials in Seoul.
"A split-procurement would lead to a high level of flexibility by delivering fully operational capability in the near term together with all options to react on relevant future developments before selecting the remaining aircraft," Peter Maute, senior vice president of Eurofighter sales at EADS Cassidian, said.
Maute's proposal goes against a recent decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Last month, the JCS decided to first purchase 40 stealth fighters in the 60-plane F-X III program, but provided no specifications for the remaining 20. It is widely believed that JSC had F-35 joint strike fighters, in mind but Maute obviously did not want to wait until the Ministry of National Defense chooses the type of aircraft.
The split-buy concept comes as there are still concerns over possible late delivery of the still in development F-35, which may trigger a vacuum in air power.
The requirement program, aimed at replacing the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s, was initially to import warplanes from 2016, but this has been delayed until 2018.
"Deliveries were set originally for 2016, although now in the recent JCS statement it is 2018 for the F-35, which we believe is still uncertain and therefore risks a vacuum in air power," Maute said.
"Due to the stable phase of the Eurofighter program, we can ensure earlier fixed delivery dates, thereby satisfying the first criteria of the Korean Air Force.
"A split-procurement would allow Korea to take F-35 deliveries when it has reached the same phase without jeopardizing the overall time schedule for the introduction of the new aircraft fleet."
In the third phase of the advanced fighter program, the Eurofighter was raved about for its industrial package as well as offset program, and Maute said that they still stand in the case of selling 40 Eurofighters.
The four-nation consortium ― Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain ― offered to set up a final assembly line in Korea and invest $2 billion (2.1 trillion won) into the nation's indigenous fighter program.
"We would still be prepared to deliver the principles of our technology transfer and industrial participation," he said.
"The Eurofighter Typhoon offer compromises a unique industrial package that will provide Korea and Korean industry with the indigenous capability to evolve the system exactly according to its needs and the opportunity to significantly enhance their industrial competences, skills and capabilities."
He added that none of these benefits will be achievable with the F-35.
The Korean government has historically shown a strong bias toward American military equipment on the back of its 60-year-old Korean-U.S. alliance, but the German said that the split-buy will enable Korea to expand its interaction and exchange with some economically strong European nations while maintaining its important links with the United States.
"The four Prime Ministers of the four Eurofighter partner nations have stated their full commitment to support and to welcome Korea to the Eurofighter program as an equal partner," Maute said.
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| Peter Maute, senior vice president of Eurofighter sales at EADS Cassidian |
The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) made the offer at a news conference held by senior officials in Seoul.
"A split-procurement would lead to a high level of flexibility by delivering fully operational capability in the near term together with all options to react on relevant future developments before selecting the remaining aircraft," Peter Maute, senior vice president of Eurofighter sales at EADS Cassidian, said.
Maute's proposal goes against a recent decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Last month, the JCS decided to first purchase 40 stealth fighters in the 60-plane F-X III program, but provided no specifications for the remaining 20. It is widely believed that JSC had F-35 joint strike fighters, in mind but Maute obviously did not want to wait until the Ministry of National Defense chooses the type of aircraft.
The split-buy concept comes as there are still concerns over possible late delivery of the still in development F-35, which may trigger a vacuum in air power.
The requirement program, aimed at replacing the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s, was initially to import warplanes from 2016, but this has been delayed until 2018.
"Deliveries were set originally for 2016, although now in the recent JCS statement it is 2018 for the F-35, which we believe is still uncertain and therefore risks a vacuum in air power," Maute said.
"Due to the stable phase of the Eurofighter program, we can ensure earlier fixed delivery dates, thereby satisfying the first criteria of the Korean Air Force.
"A split-procurement would allow Korea to take F-35 deliveries when it has reached the same phase without jeopardizing the overall time schedule for the introduction of the new aircraft fleet."
In the third phase of the advanced fighter program, the Eurofighter was raved about for its industrial package as well as offset program, and Maute said that they still stand in the case of selling 40 Eurofighters.
The four-nation consortium ― Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain ― offered to set up a final assembly line in Korea and invest $2 billion (2.1 trillion won) into the nation's indigenous fighter program.
"We would still be prepared to deliver the principles of our technology transfer and industrial participation," he said.
"The Eurofighter Typhoon offer compromises a unique industrial package that will provide Korea and Korean industry with the indigenous capability to evolve the system exactly according to its needs and the opportunity to significantly enhance their industrial competences, skills and capabilities."
He added that none of these benefits will be achievable with the F-35.
The Korean government has historically shown a strong bias toward American military equipment on the back of its 60-year-old Korean-U.S. alliance, but the German said that the split-buy will enable Korea to expand its interaction and exchange with some economically strong European nations while maintaining its important links with the United States.
"The four Prime Ministers of the four Eurofighter partner nations have stated their full commitment to support and to welcome Korea to the Eurofighter program as an equal partner," Maute said.
