By Kang Seung-woo
A procurement official in charge of Korea’s new fighter procurement program said Tuesday that special offers being made by the three bidders fall short of anything substantial.
The players competing for the ROK Air Force’s requirement for 60 new combat aircraft are Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth jet, and the Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon from the European Aerospace Defense and Space Company (EADS).
As their offset packages in the bidding war are hovering over the bottom line of 50 percent in terms of estimated value to the 8.3 trillion-won procurement price, the firms are offering “sweetened yet questionable” proposals in order to gain ground.
Lockheed Martin, whose F-35 is seen as a front-runner in the three-way race, promised to help Korea sell its T-50 Golden Eagle to the U.S. Air Force as part of the latter’s new trainer procurement project last month, when President Park Geun-hye met its CEO Marillyn Hewson in Washington.
However, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the T-50 promotion is a contractual duty for Lockheed, given that the Bethesda, Md.-based company co-developed the Golden Eagle with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), and it is pursuing a marketing program in the United States.
In addition, if the T-50 is chosen, Lockheed will receive royalty payments on each plane sold.
“If the aircraft is chosen, the Golden Eagle will be labeled as the Lockheed Martin T-50 in the United States,” said DAPA spokesman Baek Youn-hyeong.
In time for the third phase of the competition, Boeing has announced it will establish an avionics maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province.
But the DAPA spokesman said that plan has been under consideration since last year and has little to do with the F-X program.
“Boeing needs an MRO center in Asia, so it will erect the facility,” he said.
In addition, it offered to give three KC-135 Stratotankers, an aerial refueling military aircraft, free of charge if Korea picks the Silent Eagle for the replacement of the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
But DAPA turned down the proposal because the first KC-135 rolled off the assembly line in 1965 and is expected to have high operation and maintenance costs.
EADS last month offered to invest $2 billion in Korea’s indigenous fighter program, code-named KF-X, should it win the deal.
“EADS made the investment offer on the condition that it wins the procurement deal,” Baek said.
“In addition, the offer is optional, not included with evaluation items such as offset programs or industrial cooperation.”
Critics say that the offers are aimed at forming public opinion favoring their positions in the bidding, which can put a damper on fair competition.
“The proposals seem to seek profits for the bidders rather than have something to do with the F-X project,” a military official said.