Paul Lewis/SEOUL

The SOUTH Korean air force is expected to make a decision in 1997 on the selection of a new air-launched stand-off weapon to arm its McDonnell Douglas F-4E and replacement F-X aircraft.

South Korean interest is focused primarily on the Rockwell International AGM-130 precision-guided weapon and the rival Lockheed Martin/Rafael AGM-142/Popeye missile. Both systems are being offered with the option of either a blast-fragmentation or penetration warhead.

All three companies are planning to offer South Korea the choice of a commercial or US-Government-supported foreign-military-sales (FMS) deal. Rafael says that it would be the prime contractor for the Popeye, or, in the case of the US- customised AGM-142, act as a joint-venture partner to Lockheed Martin. According to industry sources, a formal request for proposals (RFP) is being drawn up and a letter of request has already been sent to the USAF's FMS office. The air force could produce a final short-list as early as the first quarter of 1997, says one manufacturer.

Others remain less optimistic, pointing out that the air force requirement for a standoff weapon dates back more than six years. South Korea had originally intended buying the Rockwell GBU-15 and, later, GBU-24 laser-guided bombs.

Local manufacturers, in the meantime, are pressing the South Korean army for a decision on putting the indigenous Pegasus, or "Chunma", air-defence system into production. Prime contractor Daewoo Heavy Industries says that development of the surface-to-air missile (SAM) and launcher vehicle is now virtually complete.

The Pegasus system has been under development for at least five years, and six prototypes have been produced to date. The system is based on the Thomson-CSF Crotale SAM, a small number of which were delivered to the South Korean military.

Its turret-mounted, Ku-band tracking radar is supplied by Thomson, while the S-band surveillance radar is produced locally by LG Precision. The Pegasus missile is fitted with a proximity warhead and has an effective range of 2-10km (1-6nm) and speed of Mach 2.6.

The turret, radars and an eight-round launcher are mounted on a Daewoo-built four-man tracked armoured vehicle. The Pegasus chassis has also been used as the basis of the army's "Flying Tiger" twin 35mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.

Source: Flight International