South Korea will soon restart bidding for its multi-billion dollar fighter jet competition after offerors didn’t reach its target, according to a key Air Force official.
“Frankly, all the competitors came in and didn’t meet the target the (South) Korea government was looking for,” Pacific Air Forces Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle said yesterday as part of a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington. “(South) Korea had to make a decision to either find a way to pay a higher amount or lower the number of airplanes they were going to buy…that decision has not been made.”
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| Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle. Photo: Air Force. |
Boeing [BA] is offering its F-15 for the competition while Lockheed Martin [LMT] is pitching the F-35. A team of Finmecannica subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi, BAE Systems and Cassidian, a division of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), are offering their Eurofighter Typhoon.
Bidding is scheduled to resume the third week of August.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in April it notified Congress of a potential Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) to South Korea in support of 60 F-15 Silent Eagles and associated equipment and support worth an estimated $2.4 billion. DSCA also said in April it notified Congress of a potential Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to South Korea of 60 conventional variant F-35s with associated parts and support worth a potential $10.8 billion (Defense Daily, April 5).