Fighter Deal Becomes Two-Way Competition

By Jung Sung-ki

Korea Times Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. _ U.S. aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin has confirmed it will not take part in South Korea’s second-phase fighter jet procurement program for 20 aircraft.

In a meeting with Korean journalists at the company’s headquarters last week, senior Lockheed Martin officials said sales of the firm’s stealth fighters are impossible because of the related arms export ban and disagreement on Seoul’s operational requirements.

``We have already decided not to participate in Korea’s second F-X program internally due to a restriction on overseas sales of our fighter jets and disputes over Korea’s operational requirements,’’ a company official said, asking not to be named.

The official referred to a 1997 U.S. legislation that forbids the export of the word’s most advanced F-22 Raptor equipped with radar-evading stealth technology.

The multi-role F-35 fighter of the U.S. company is also short of South Korea’s operational requirements regarding the number of engines and combat radius.

Company officials expressed high hopes over the sales of the two stealth planes in the next-phase F-X projects for about 60 additional aircraft after 2012.

They hinted that the U.S. Congress is ``positively’’ considering lifting the export ban on the F-22, which Japan has also sought to purchase to replace its F-4E fleets.

With the dropout of Lockheed Martin, the $2.4 billion aircraft deal has become a two-way battle between the F-15K of Boeing and the Eurofighter Typhoon of the four-nation European consortium BAE Systems of the United Kingdom.

The two bidders are required to submit their proposals to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) by tomorrow. The successful candidate will be chosen in February next year after several evaluations.

Military sources said Boeing has the upper hand in the deal because Seoul is considering reducing costs for production and operation of the F-15Ks based on the 2002 contract for 40 aircraft.

The F-15K is capable of air-to-ground, air-to-air and air-to-sea missions day or night, under any weather conditions. It can carry a 23,000-pound payload, fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.3 and has a combat radius of 1,800 kilometers.

The Eurofighter is a delta-wing, beyond-visual-range, close-air fighter aircraft with surface attack capability. The fighter is able to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.0 and has a combat radius of 1,389 kilometers.