Posted on 12/27/2010 5:16:11 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Seoul may revive development program for stealth fighter jets
By Na Jeong-ju
The military is considering developing its own stealth fighters by 2020 to counter North Korea’s military threats more effectively, according to media reports Monday.
Under a multi-billion-dollar project, codenamed “KF-X,” Seoul plans to develop indigenous, multi-role fighter jets by 2020.
However, the military is shifting the focus of the project to building stealth fighters in the wake of North Korea’s Nov. 23 artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island that killed two marines and two civilians.
“The basic concept of the program is being changed to develop a stealth fighter to evade the enemy’s radar systems,” Yonhap reported, quoting a military source. “The concept has been taking more concrete shape since the artillery attack.”
At a time when North Korea’s missiles and nuclear threats are growing, there has been a common understanding within the military that it should develop a stealth fighter to deter and cope with these.
“If our military has stealth fighters, it could put significant psychological pressure on the North Korean leadership,” the source said.
Initiated in 2001, the KF-X program had originally been aimed at developing and producing by 2020 about 120 fifth-generation fighters stealthier than Dassault's Rafale or the Eurofighter Typhoon, though not as much as Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightening II.
Officials said earlier that they were reconsidering introducing the fifth-generation stealth fighters due to technical and budgetary problems.
In late 2007, the Korea Development Institute, a state-funded think tank, concluded the KF-X would be nonviable economically. It said the program would cost at least $10 billion but could be expected to reap only $3 billion in economic benefits.
Some defense analysts have also raised questions on the technological aspects of the KF-X.
In a related move, the nation could delay the purchase of foreign stealth fighters under the F-X multi-phase fighter procurement program.
The F-X aims to buy 120 high-end fighter jets by 2020 in an effort to modernize the Air Force's fleet. Boeing won two previous deals in 2002 and 2008 to provide 61 F-15Ks.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
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