KAI Selected as Preferred Bidder of Korean Fighter Jet Development Projects

On March 30, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) selected Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) as the preferred bidder of the project called Korean Fighter Experimental or KF-X, which is a South Korean program to develop an advanced fighter jet for the country. 

It is a project to mass produce 120 middleweight home-grown fighter jets, which are similar to the KF-16 in mobility, but superior in mounted radar and electronic equipment, through national development.

A total of 18.1 trillion won (US$16.37 billion), including the development cost of 8.5 trillion won (US$7.69 billion) and the mass production cost of 9.6 trillion won (US$8.68 billion), is invested in the KF-X project, which is the largest-ever weapons development program in Korean history. The jets are scheduled to be developed by 2025 and be in service by 2032. 

The KAI received a higher score in the evaluation of proposals than Korean Air Lines since it had manufactured the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer, the FA-50 Fighting Eagle, and the country's utility helicopter, the Surion, and got ahead in technical skills. 

The DAPA said it will conduct negotiations with the KAI over technology and price until May and hold a meeting of the defense project committee in June. Then, it will make a final decision and sign a contract with the winner. 

Earlier, the KAI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the KF-X program with American defense company Lockheed Martin, which was selected as the winner of the previous F-X project, for technology transfer and investment. Lockheed Martin promised to transfer the technology of the KF-X at the offset negotiations of the next generation fighter jet project. 

The KAI has development manpower of 1,300 employees who are experienced in aircraft development, and 67 of them led the aircraft design of the KF-X. 

Meanwhile, the “Patriot Performance Improvement Project” was also decided, which purchased Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles through the foreign military sales (FMS) program from the U.S. government. 

The project is to purchase PAC-3 missiles in a bid to directly intercept nuclear or biochemical ballistic missile warheads from North Korea, and improve the performance of the Patriot’s essential equipment. Raytheon was selected as the company in charge of the performance improvement of the Patriot’s essential equipment.