South Korea awards fighter jet project to KAI and partner Lockheed Martin
South Korea selects HK$60.5b joint bid from Lockheed Martin and KAI to replace ageing fleet of fighter jets with 120 new aircraft
The bid from KAI and the US aerospace giant was always seen as the favourite for the 8.6 trillion won (HK$60.5 billion) deal over a rival bid by civilian carrier Korean Air (KAL) teamed with Airbus.
The KF-X fighter project is designed to develop and produce 120 fighter jets of a new, indigenous type to replace South Korea's ageing fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
"We have chosen KAI as the preferred bidder based on our review of ... cost, development plans and development capabilities of the two bidders," the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration said.
"We are planning to sign the [final] contract during the first half of this year after negotiating with the preferred bidder over technology ... and the price," the state-run procurement agency said.
The South Korean government would provide 60 per cent of the development costs, with the rest to be shared by the winning consortium and Indonesia, whose involvement is the result of a bilateral defence treaty.