'S. Korea signed F-X deal despite engine fault'

F-35 stealth fighter

By Jun Ji-hye

The military procurement agency signed a 7.3 trillion won ($7 billion) deal to purchase 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for the Air Force’s next-generation fighter (F-X), although it was previously informed of engine faults by the U.S., claimed an opposition lawmaker, Monday.

Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy argued that the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) tried to cover up the problem involving the project.

He presented information from DAPA to back up his assertion during a National Assembly audit.

Last November, South Korea decided to import the radar-evading combat planes under the foreign military sales (FMS) format covered by guarantees from the U.S. government. The plan is to gradually buy the aircraft, 10 at a time, from 2018 to 2021.

According to the data, the U.S. government informed Seoul on Sept. 13 of the result of its inspection of an accident that occurred on June 23, when one of the warplane’s engine caught fire before takeoff at a Florida air base.

The engine malfunction led to the grounding of the entire F-35 fleet for more than three weeks.

In its report to Seoul, Washington attributed the fire to excessive rubbing between rotors and stators, and the U.S. Air Force called on the maker to redesign the fan blade system.

Ahn pointed out that, despite this information, the DAPA Executive Committee, which was presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo, approved the plan to purchase the stealth fighters on Sept. 24.

DAPA then signed an official deal with the U.S. on Sept. 30.

The second term lawmaker added that the F-35 was assessed as unsuitable in seven areas demanded by the South Korean Air Force including the ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) function, but DAPA pushed ahead with the deal.

“The F-X project should have proceeded fairly and transparently as it requires a huge budget,” said Ahn.

In response, DAPA spokesman Baek Youn-hyeong said that the agency confirmed that the engine problem could be resolved by changing just part of the design.

“Following a number of meetings and negotiations regarding the engine fire and follow-up measures, we decided the explanation from Lockheed Martin, along with an official letter from the U.S. government, was reliable,” said Baek in a press release.

Regarding the seven areas, Baek said those were not included in the list of Required Operational Capabilities that were suggested when the agency chose the plane.

“The seven functions were additionally required as they were not directly related to the mission capability of the Air Force,” said Baek. “We will closely work together with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government to manage any insufficiencies.”

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