By Jun Ji-hye
The state-run arms procurement agency is drawing fire for allegedly lying about the terms of a contract on the transfer of technologies in a 7.3 trillion won deal to purchase 40 F-35 stealth fighters.
When the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed the deal with Lockheed Martin in September last year, it said it would receive 25 core technologies from the U.S. firm, along with the aircraft, and use them to develop indigenous fighter jets.
However, it admitted Tuesday that it could not receive four of the technologies because the U.S. government did not allow Lockheed to transfer them.
It is alleged that DAPA was already aware during price negotiations with the U.S. firm that the transfer of the four was unlikely.
Additionally, the transfer was not included in the official terms of the contract as Lockheed just promised to seek government approval for it under the offset agreement.
During a National Assembly audit session Tuesday, lawmakers charged that the agency therefore lied about the contract.
Rep. Moon Jae-in, chairman of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), said, “The military has constantly said Korea will be handed over key technologies from the U.S. through the offset deal in the F-35 contract, and these will be used in the KF-X program. Is the U.S. breaking a contract, or is the military lying?”
Later, DAPA said the U.S. decision was not a breach of contract.
The NAPD’s Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek said the failure to receive the technologies will deal a setback to Korea’s project to develop its own fighter jets, which is expected to cost 8.5 trillion won, to be deployed from 2025.
DAPA said Lockheed refused to include the four technologies in the contract from the beginning, citing Washington’s security policies.
The four technologies are the multifunction, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, infrared search and track (IRST), electronic optics targeting pod (EOTGP) and RF jammer.
The change in DAPA’s position after a year showed that the agency exaggerated the transfers and the effect although it already knew that the U.S. government would not approve the export of the four core technologies.
Ahn called on the military to ask the U.S. firm to pay compensation, saying DAPA and the Air Force have dealt with the F-35 and KF-X projects too negligently.
In response, a DAPA official said on the condition of anonymity, “We will push for cooperation with other foreign firms in developing AESA radar and IRST technologies, and will autonomously develop EOTGPs and RF jammers.
He said, “We expect the U.S. government to approve the export of the remaining 21 technologies in November.”
But Ahn remained skeptical, saying “The approval of the export of the 21 technologies has also been delayed.”
He said Lockheed was supposed to seek government approval by May to export them.
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