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S. Korea's fighter jet project under probe as U.S. rejects technology transfer

Xinhua, September 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Korea's multi-billion-U.S. dollar project to develop homegrown fighter jets was under the presidential office's investigation after the United States rejected the transfer of four main technologies necessary for the project, Yonhap News Agency reported Friday citing the arms procurement agency.

An official at the Defense Acquisition program Administration ( DAPA) was quoted as saying that the civil affairs' office under the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae demanded the submission of documents about the KF-X, or the Korean Fighter Experimental, project.

Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters that the civil affairs' office was investigating into the KF-X project.

When the DAPA signed a contract last year with the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin to purchase 40 F-35A combat jets, the arms procurement agency clinched a sideline deal to obtain 25 fighter jet technologies from the U.S. firm because those were necessary for the indigenous combat plane development project.

The U.S. rejection in April of the transfer of four main technologies to South Korea was recently disclosed by local media reports, boosting expectations that the project cannot be completed by the target year of 2025.

The four technologies were about active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, infra-red search and track (IRST) system, electro-optical targeting system and integration system for electronic warfare jammer.

Suspicions spread why the arms procurement agency selected Lockheed Martin as a contractor to sell advanced combat planes that will replace South Korea's aging fighter jets though its two rivals proposed to provide the four technologies as well as the system integration technology.

The KF-X project was estimated to cost about 18 trillion won ( 15 billion U.S. dollars), including 8 trillion won for research and development.

If any corruptions are detected in the transaction between the DAPA and Lockheed Martin, the law enforcement authorities may launch an overall investigation into the project, Yonhap said.

The arms procurement agency is developing 120 homegrown fighter jets through the KF-X project, upgrading 134 KF-16 combat planes, planning to purchase 20 maritime patrol planes and buy 40 next- generation F-35A fighter jets from the U.S. defense company. Those projects were valued at a combined 27.8 trillion won. Endi