Korea to buy 40 F-35s for W7.4 tril.

By Kang Seung-woo

The government will purchase 40 Lockheed Martin F-35s with a procurement budget of 7.4 trillion won ($6.8 million), the nation’s arms procurement agency announced Monday.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) will start talks next week with the U.S. side to complete the deal by the end of September.

The foreign military sales (FMS) process under which the aircraft will be procured will require the government to pay an amount specified by the U.S. at the time of delivery.

This is the first official statement on the purchase after the decision was made to import the radar-evading combat plane in November in the fighter procurement program, or F-X III, between 2018 and 2021.

“The Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee decided to purchase the F-35 under the government-to-government FMS process and we plan to complete the deal by the end of the third quarter,” DAPA spokesman Baek Youn-hyeong said in a briefing.

From next week, DAPA will carry out negotiations on aircraft software, price and offset programs.

“Technical support and price will be negotiated with the U.S. government, while DAPA will talk with Lockheed Martin about offset deals,” said Jung Kwang-sun, director of DAPA’s aircraft department.

The U.S. aerospace giant welcomed the decision.

“We are honored by and appreciate the trust and confidence the Republic of Korea has placed in the fifth generation F-35 to meet its demanding security requirements. We look forward to supporting discussions between the Republic of Korea and U.S. governments in support of a final agreement this year,” said Orlando Carvalho, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics executive vice president. “This decision strengthens and extends our long-standing security partnership while enhancing regional stability across the greater Asia Pacific theater.”

Last year, Korea planned to introduce 60 high-tech combat planes with a budget of 8.3 trillion won and Boeing’s F-15 Silent and European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company’s Eurofighter Typhoon vied with the F-35. The F-15 was rejected in September as it only met the procurement price and lacked a stealth function.

Although the F-35 failed to come within the budget at that time, it is expected to meet it this time.

According to Lockheed and the Pentagon, the unit price of the F-35 including an engine will be around $80 to $85 million in 2019 ― although DAPA calls the prediction “too rosy.”

Meanwhile, Korea also decided to purchase four RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawks between 2018 and 2019.

The unmanned aerial vehicle is expected to help the country independently counter possible North Korean missile and nuclear attacks without U.S. aid.

“The high-altitude UAV is a key weapon system for a kill chain by monitoring North Korea around the clock to detect early signs of provocations,” DAPA said in a release.

The kill chain is a pre-emptive missile destruction system along with the independent, low-tier missile shield, or the Korea Air and Missile Defense System, Seoul’s core response to Pyongyang’s missile threats.

The RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk, a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft, carries multiple sensors and is the most advanced surveillance aircraft in the U.S. Air Force fleet. It can fly for up to 32 hours, while carrying a 1,360 kilogram payload, with a maximum altitude of 18.3 kilometers.