.jpg)
Posted on 06/06/2016 6:01:12 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
An artist's conception of the indigenous fighter jet, dubbed the KF-X / Courtesy of Korea Aerospace Industries
The nation's heavy dependence on U.S. weapons has reemerged in its indigenous fighter jet development project as the state arms procurement agency and the aircraft maker are apparently seeking steady progress by using familiar U.S. products rather than choosing a new path.
But critics are raising concerns that the overdependence on the Washington's products and technologies could put Korea into an unfavorable position in the future when exporting jets.
The so-called KF-X project is aimed at locally developing twin-engine combat jets equipped with state-of-the-art aviation electronics equipment by 2026, which would replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
Developing the fighter jets is estimated to cost 8.5 trillion won ($7.2 billion), and an additional 10 trillion won is needed to produce 120 jets by 2032.
On May 26, U.S.-based General Electric (GE) won a bid against European rival Eurojet to supply twin engines for Seoul's fighter jets.
GE's F414-GE-400 engine was picked over Eurojet's EJ200 engine, increasing the U.S. influence on the project, which had already been pushed forward with the help of the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin.
The U.S. government agreed in December to allow Lockheed Martin to transfer some 21 technologies related to the F-35 fighter jet, including the flight control system, to Korea, in exchange for Seoul's purchase of 40 F-35 Lightning II fighters in 2014.
During the bid between GE and Eurojet, some critics called on the government to choose the European company; otherwise, they said, Washington might restrict Seoul's export of the aircraft to countries that Washington deems a threat.
They also cited Eurojet's promise to transfer several technologies to Korea if it was selected as the engine provider.
But GE won as expected.
Observers in the defense sector said that GE's victory was predicted to some extent, as the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) apparently attempted to make a safe choice to reduce the risk as much as possible.
KAI, the nation's sole aircraft maker, is already familiar with GE's products, having used them when developing the T-50 supersonic trainer and the Surion utility helicopter.
KAI signed a contract with the DAPA at the end of last year to manufacture the fighter jets.
Observers say such risk-averse attitude that opts for the familiar path is expected to continue in future selections of other equipment for the KF-X, such as the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
On April 20, Hanwha Thales, the defense arm of Hanwha Group, was selected as a preferred bidder to produce the AESA radar for the KF-X.
The DAPA said the Korean company, under the supervision of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), will forge ahead with developing and producing the AESA radar, essential equipment that helps a pilot identify friend or foe in battle and find targets on the ground.
Then on May 18, the DAPA also left open the possibility of buying the AESA radar from foreign countries in the case that the domestic development fails.
"I still believe Korea can domestically develop the AESA radar, but if we fail to reach the goal, we will consider buying it from foreign countries," said an official from the DAPA on the condition of anonymity during a meeting with reporters.
Earlier, in January, KAI President and CEO Ha Sung-yong made a clearer comment regarding the ASEA radar during a media interview.
Ha said the nation can buy the radar and use it first if the domestic development makes little progress. He also said the nation will push forward with localizing the equipment and replace the exported products.
When asked where the nation will buy the radar from, Ha simply answered, "The United States."
The response sounded too certain, given that the U.K.'s Selex, Sweden's SAAB and Israel's ELTA have been also known to be interested in developing the AESA radar for Korea.
When asked why the KAI president put his finger on the U.S. for the development of the product even though companies around the world have also shown their interest, an official from KAI said, on the condition of anonymity, "That was probably because we already have been in partnership with the U.S. companies since pushing forward the previous projects, which means that we are familiar with the U.S. products."
But critics say that Korea could be confronted with a difficult problem due to its heavy dependence on U.S. weapons and technologies in the KF-X project when it attempts to export the jets to foreign countries.
A source in the defense sector cited the export of the T-50 supersonic trainer as an example.
KAI co-developed the T-50 Golden Eagle in 2006 with Lockheed Martin, using the U.S. firm's core technologies, including the avionics system and engine.
Because of this, Korea needs to get approval from the U.S. government to export the aircraft in accordance with the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.
"Lockheed Martin's technologies were included in the development of the T-50. So, Korea's attempts to export the trainer to certain countries often face restrictions due to the Washington's refusal to issue an export license," the source said.
Indeed, last year, the U.S. government reportedly refused to allow Korea to export $400 million's worth of the T-50s to Uzbekistan, citing possible technology leakage and diplomatic policy, according to sources.
"The U.S. hegemony involving defense technologies is very strong, and the entry barrier is very high," Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the Justice Party told reporters. "Diversifying the weapon system would mean breaking down such barriers."
Korea has heavily depended on U.S. weapons since the 1970s.
According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank on security affairs, 80 percent of weapons that Korea imported from 2008 to 2013 were produced in the United States.
As to why Korea has depended on U.S. weapons, Korean military officials often cite the weapons' interoperability with the existing systems.
"The dependence on U.S. weapon systems originates from a number of complicated situations, such as division and tension between the two Koreas, the Seoul-Washington alliance, pressure from the U.S., and the lack of domestic technologies," said a military official on condition of anonymity.
But experts said overdependence on Washington could weaken the nation's military independence and result in economic losses if the nation continues to be dragged by the U.S. during the process to purchase weapons.
"The government should refrain from being hasty to produce tangible results in a short period of time and should create a long-term road map to develop domestic technologies," said Kim Dae-young, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.
Seems like everyone else is building some version of the Raptor. Perhaps we can buy some off the Koreans to shore up our fighter gap, being as we don’t make our own now.
Are square bombs/fuel tanks now in vogue? Or is that how they were able to change a picture of the F-22 to the "new technology?"
They aren’t square, no right angles to act as corner reflectors for radar.
A flat surface not normal to the radar bounced the signal away from the radar.
A cylinder reflects more of the signal back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.