Boeing has entered into a $300 million, five-year sustainment contract to maintain Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) F-15K Slam Eagles.
The performance-based logistics (PBL) contract aims to "ensure the long-term, affordable sustainment of ROKAF's fleet of F-15K fighters", Boeing said in a statement.
Under the programme, South Korean firm Hyundai Glovis will provide in-country logistics handling and supply chain distribution.
"Boeing is pleased to continue supporting the ROKAF F-15 fleet, which has achieved some of the best mission-capability rates of any air force operating the F-15," said Jim O'Neill, vice president and general manager of Boeing Integrated Logistics.
©Boeing
"Those rates have continuously improved since the aircraft's introduction to the ROKAF," O'Neill added.
Boeing declined to comment on the number of aircraft the contract will support, but the ROKAF operates about 60 F-15Ks.
"[The PBL contract] is an alternative to the traditional transactional approach to purchasing supply and maintenance support for defence programmes," said Boeing. "With PBLs, customers buy agreed-to outcomes - for example, a set mission-readiness rate - versus purchasing spare parts on a transactional basis."
Seoul's F-15Ks were obtained under the F-X I and F-X II programmes. Boeing has proposed the F-15 Silent Eagle - which shares a great deal in common with the F-15K - for Seoul's F-X III requirement. Its rivals in the F-X III are the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Eurofighter Typhoon.
Source: Flight International
