Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE
The South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy is pushing to continue domestic production of the Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters beyond the initial 120-aircraft order. This is because of concerns that Samsung Aerospace, which manufactures the F-16 under licence, will have excess production capacity once the contract is completed in April 2000.
"Clearly, Samsung is pushing hard, because they are hitting desperate times," says one source. A follow-on order for 20-40 aircraft is under consideration as a stop-gap before the start of production of the Samsung/Lockheed Martin KTX-2 advanced trainer/light combat aircraft.
Samsung, Daewoo Heavy Industries and Hyundai Space and Aircraft are expected to merge this year to form Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI). They are keen to avoid becoming merely parts manufacturers for foreign companies. South Korean president Kim Dae Jung is understood to have recently instructed the air force chief of staff to find ways of helping the national aerospace industry.
Samsung licence-produces the Block 52 variant of the F-16. The company has been hoping for a follow-on order for the aircraft, but the South Korean air force has previously said that there is no operational requirement beyond the existing order.
According to defence sources in Seoul, the air force has softened its stance, saying it is prepared to take more F-16s. It remains unwilling to pay for them, however. If the air force has to pay, this could reduce the number of new multirole fighters it hopes to order in its F-X programme, or subject the programme to further delays.
The F-X is intended to replace the air force's McDonnell Douglas F-4D/Es and Northrop F-5s. It has been considering an initial order for 60 aircraft to be operational in about 2004-5, with the possibility of a 60-unit follow-on order.
According to one source close to the procurement programme, the F-X bidders are to meet officials in April, when it is expected that a technical request for proposals (RFP) will be issued.
This comes earlier than expected, which some observers interpret as a concession to the air force, reassuring them that Seoul remains committed to F-X regardless of any additional F-16 purchase. It had been thought the technical RFP would not come before June, at the earliest, while the nation's continuing economic troubles suggested it could slip beyond the turn of the millennium.
The F-X candidate aircraft are the Boeing F-15K derivative of the F-15E Eagle, the Dassault Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Sukhoi Su-35/37.
Lockheed Martin says it is out of the F-X competition, because of the air force's insistence on a twin-engined aircraft.
Source: Flight International
