'Don't worry about KF-X. It will succeed'

Chang Myoung-jin, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), holds an interview with The Korea Times at the DAPA headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

DAPA head says concerns are ‘overblown’

By Jun Ji-hye

Korean arms developers and researchers are capable of developing core technologies needed to produce indigenous fighter jets with help from foreign defense firms, according to the head of the nation’s arms procurement agency.

“The KF-X is a national project that must be completed as scheduled by 2025,” said Chang Myoung-jin, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), during an exclusive interview with The Korea Times last week. “We already have most of the crucial technologies, accumulated during the course of developing other planes over past years.

“We will receive help from foreign firms, if needed. Don’t worry about the project. We will succeed.”

Chang dispelled concerns that Korea will not be able to meet the 2025 deadline to develop its own jets, raised after the U.S. government refused to allow Lockheed Martin to transfer four core technologies related to its F-35 stealth fighters to Korea, which are crucial for the KF-X program.

“That’s only a small part of the whole,” he said. “The concerns are overblown.”

The KF-X is aimed at developing homegrown fighter jets equipped with state-of-the-art aviation electronics equipment to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

The U.S. government did not allow Lockheed Martin to handover four technologies to Korea, but the nation’s research institutes and defense firms have been conducting in-depth reviews of how to secure the relevant technologies, Chang said.

The four technologies are the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, infrared search and track (IRST), electronic optics targeting pod (EOTGP) and radio frequency (RF) jammer.

Chang, who assumed the top post of the state-run procurement agency on Nov. 19 last year, said the DAPA will preferentially push for the domestic development of such technologies and integration technologies for them, and will enter into partnerships with foreign companies when necessary.

Final plans will be determined after the DAPA signs a development contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) that was selected as a preferred bidder for the project over Korean Air in March this year, he said.

“The DAPA is currently conducting negotiations with KAI about performances, cost and schedules for the project, and expects the two sides to sign a contract by the end of this year,” he said.

Chang is well aware of skepticism voiced by several defense observers that it will be difficult for the nation domestically to develop the four core technologies within 10 years.

But he stressed that the nation’s own technologies have reached a considerable level after developing the KT-1, T-50 trainer aircraft and Surion Korean Utility Helicopters (KUH-1).

“We will make the most of these accumulated technologies,” he said.

Chang stressed that the nation’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has been leading the development of the AESA radar since 2006 with a defense firm here, and the nation is planning to cooperate partially with a third country to secure necessary technology for the completion.

According to officials, the ADD has yet to devise cooling technology to counter the heat of the AESA radar, essential equipment that helps a pilot identify friends or foes in battle and locate targets on the ground.

“We will seek advice from experts and disclose progress transparently to the public,” he said. “We will definitely succeed because the KF-X is a core objective for national security, which cannot be delayed further.”

Toward that end, Chang said the government will establish a task force in charge of the KF-X program by the end of this year, and that he will directly control it.

“The task force will enable us to promptly set up countermeasures to cope with a variety of pending issues related to the program, including the management of joint development with Korea and Indonesia as well as coordination of different opinions between concerning organizations,” he said.

In October last year, Jakarta agreed with Seoul to participate in the project, paying 20 percent of the costs and later buying 50 aircraft.

The KF-X program, initiated by the late President Kim Dae-jung in March 2001, has been delayed due to budget constraints and questions over its feasibility.

Defense corruption

Chang also expressed a willingness to eliminate rampant corruption in the defense industry, most of which stems from cozy relations between the military and manufacturers.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) in July last year, defense industries have been employing several ex-servicemen and retired government officials, who had been in charge of defense industries, to utilize their networks and influence their bidding to win large contracts.

One of the best-known cases was the DAPA’s doubtful choice of a supplier to provide an outdated sonar system for the first domestically produced rescue and salvage ship, the 3,500-ton Tongyeong, in January 2009.

Launched in September 2012, the ship failed to take part in the rescue operation after the Sewol ferry sank in April last year because of the malfunctioning sonar system.

Such widespread corruption in the defense sector led to a large-scale investigation by the prosecution in November last year. Chang was appointed DAPA head around that time, when some critics were even calling for the procurement agency to be disbanded.

Chang said the answer to eliminating deep-rooted defense corruption is to enhance professionalism in the agency.

“For the past year since I took office, I have been making efforts to enhance professionalism of both personnel and the organization,” he said. “I established a department in full charge of systematic education of the personnel. To strengthen professionalism of the organization as a whole, I am pushing to set up an upgraded information system for the overall and systematic performance of tasks.”

Chang said he is also working hard to minimize the negative impact of defense industry corruption and the prosecution’s investigation against it, such as the falling credibility of domestic goods, to defense exports.

Such efforts include promoting domestically made goods globally and seeking full market exploitation.

In particular, he utilized the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2015 (Seoul ADEX 2015) held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province last month as a channel to promote the nation’s defense industry.

“We invited a number of global figures in the defense sector and had a good conversation with them,” he said. “I believe these efforts will raise the credibility of domestic weapons, which will produce a good result for the nation’s defense exports in the long term.”

He also said he will consistently expand support for small and medium defense firms, for example, by cooperating with the Small and Medium Business Administration and by issuing public notifications for defense projects to prevent them from being excluded from participating.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye