Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE
The South Korean Government has agreed to support development of the Samsung KTX-II advanced-trainer/light-combat aircraft, in response to strong industry lobbying and in the absence of any other national aerospace programme.
Project officials within the South Korean air force confirm that the Government has provisionally given the go-ahead for full-scale development of the tandem-seat jet aircraft. Korean negotiators plan to begin talks shortly with Lockheed Martin in the USA on a joint development deal.
Under a funding proposal approved by the Government, industry will underwrite 30% of the programme's projected $1.5 billion development cost. The finance and economy ministry will chip in another 20% and the defence ministry the remaining 50% of funds. In an effort to shore up political support for the KTX-II, Samsung recently agreed to increase its stake from 7% to 17%.
Under a KTX-II teaming memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in July 1996 and which expired at the end of June, Lockheed Martin agreed to take a 13% share in the full-scale-development phase.
Despite having recently withdrawn its last engineers from South Korea's Taejon research centre, Lockheed Martin has consented to extend the terms of the MoU to the end of the year. The company, however, has told South Korea that prices will have to revised.
The forthcoming negotiations will also have to tackle other major issues not covered by the original MoU. It could take until the end of the year to reach a final agreement, by which time South Korea will have elected a new president.
"Politically, it's very easy to say that the KTX-II is a national programme, but it's the next president who will have to find the money," observes a local industry source.
The Government has repeatedly delayed launching the KTX-II project since 1995 and the completion of preliminary design work.
Political support for the programme, however, has begun to solidify as Korea's aerospace industry continues to struggle to find a commercial follow-on to the Lockheed Martin F-16 Korean Fighter Programme (KFP) The KFP has now entered its third and final phase with Samsung's roll-out of the first licence-manufactured F-16C/Ds.
The company has delivered 36 locally assembled fighters, and is due to complete production of the last of 72 F-16s in 1999. The first KTX-II prototype is tentatively scheduled to be flown in 2000, with the first of 95 planned production aircraft to enter service in 2005.
Source: Flight International
