KAI named preferred bidder for KF-X project
A proposed KF-X aircraft
By Kang Seung-woo
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was selected Monday as the preferred bidder for a contract to manufacture an indigenous fighter jet, codenamed KF-X, announced the arms procurement agency.
The 8.6 trillion won ($7.7 billion) project to build F-16 plus class jets with the help of global defense contractors will replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
KAI and Korean Air have been competing to earn exclusive rights to negotiate a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
Should KAI successfully land the deal by the end of the first half of the year, it will provide 120 twin-engine aircraft for the Air Force by 2032.
“After reviewing their development plan, ability and bidding price by the evaluation team comprised of government officials and experts, we selected KAI as the preferred bidder,“ DAPA said in a statement.
The decision was made at the Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee, presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo.
“We will make a final selection after completing negotiations to launch the project in the first half of this year,“ it added.
According to the procurement agency, its assessment on bids from KAI and Korean Air was comprised of 80 points for technological capability and 20 for price, leaving KAI ahead of Korean Air.
Even before Monday’s decision, KAI was regarded as the favorite on the back of its proven track record for aircraft production.
The company, based in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, has manufactured the KT-1 trainer jet, the T-50 supersonic advanced trainer, the FA-50 light attacker and the Surion utility helicopter
“KAI would seem to have a major advantage in that it has already produced designs for the KF-X and has a proven record with the T-50 program,“ James Hardy, Asia-Pacific editor of IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, told The Korea Times last month. “That will be extremely difficult for DAPA to ignore.“
KAI CEO Ha Sung-yong said: “Based on our wealth of technology and experience from the development of various aircraft, we will try our best to make the long-desired KF-X project successful.“
Ha also anticipated that the KF-X’s success will create jobs in the aerospace industry as well as boost the Air Force’s capabilities, living up to the aims of President Park Geun-hye’s “creative economy.“
According to the company, the KF-X project will annually employ more than 300,000 people and the economic ripple effect will total 90 trillion won. The amount includes effects from mass production.
In terms of its foreign partner, KAI will team up with Lockheed Martin, with whom it co-developed the T-50 trainer, and take advantage of technology transfers from the U.S. aerospace giant as part of the offset agreement for 40 F-35 stealth jets that Korea decided to purchase in September.
In addition, Korea and Indonesia have agreed a joint engineering and development agreement ― the latter paying 20 percent of the program costs and later buying 50 aircraft.
The KF-X program, initiated by the late former President Kim Dae-jung in March 2001, has been delayed due to budget constraints and questions over its feasibility.