Posted on 09/12/2013 9:55:55 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
S. Korea's ex-air force chiefs slam Boeing choice in fighter deal
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's 15 former air force chiefs have signed a petition opposing the selection of Boeing Co's F-15 Silent Eagle for the country's 8.3 trillion won ($7.64 billion) fighter jet program, one former chief said on Thursday, saying the plane lacked the cutting-edge stealth capabilities of more modern fighters.
The petition comes after Boeing's F-15SE became the only bid eligible to be chosen in South Korea's biggest-ever arms procurement program, ahead of Lockheed Martin's costlier F-35 stealth fighter and the Eurofighter consortium's Typhoon.
Lockheed and the Eurofighter consortium are technically still in the race but not eligible to be chosen according to current interpretations of local law because the bids were over the allotted budget. If the government doesn't approve the Boeing bid, the current auction must be cancelled and the entire process restarted.
The petition, which people knowledgeable about the content said was sent to the presidential office and to parliament in late August, adds to the unease among some defense experts that the selection of the Boeing aircraft may sacrifice air defense capabilities because of cost concerns.
"We can't just choose minicars over sedans because they are cheap," said Kim Hong-rae who served as the air force chief of staff in 1994 and 1995.
"Like the United States and Japan, we need F-35s as fifth-generation aircraft. We can wait another one or two years, looking ahead 40 years, with the finally selected fighter jets," Kim told Reuters, referring to any delay if the current process is cancelled.
The "F-15SE is still a paper airplane under development based on 1970's models, which raises lots of questions on the effectiveness" of upgrading the
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
I think its a really good choice
hell I’d like to replace all of our f-15s with f15 silent eagles.
That would be a good idea.
If the weapons bays go where fuel tanks used to be, does that mean that these planes have a shorter range than the f-15s they are replacing?
“Like the United States and Japan, we need F-35s”
Why would anyone in their right mind choose the underpowered, lightly-armed, moonpig designed by committee F35 over the F-15SE?
Only 1 has been built apparently, so maybe they are just using the F-15E numbers but....
F-15 SE
Combat radius: 800+ nm (720 nmi for stealth A/A mission)[40] (920 miles (1,480 kilometres))
Ferry range: 2,400 mi (2,100 nmi (3,900 km)) with conformal fuel tank and three external fuel tanks
vs F-15 E
Combat radius: 790 mi (1,150 mi (max))
Ferry range: 2,400 mi (2,100 nmi, 3,900 km) with conformal fuel tank and three external fuel tanks
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