The South Korean navy has received its first three of eight Lockheed Martin P-3CK maritime patrol aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries and will use the aircraft to patrol the Yellow Sea.
The P-3CKs have surveillance equipment including multipurpose radar, high-definition electro-optical and infrared cameras and digital acoustic analysis equipment.
Munitions include Boeing Harpoon Block II air-to-ground missiles that can hit "the enemy's coastal units or missile launchers", the navy says.
The remaining five aircraft will be delivered within this year, say industry sources in South Korea.
These eight aircraft were previously P-3Bs that the navy bought from the USA and had upgraded to P-3CKs with the help of KAI and L-3 Communications, the sources confirm. KAI received the eight P-3s at least four years ago, but has only started delivering the aircraft this year because there were issues with systems integration and as South Korea had to receive US export approval for some equipment on board, they add.
The navy already has eight P-3Cs, so the addition of P-3CKs doubles the service's Orion fleet.
South Korea has a requirement for such aircraft because many of its skirmishes with North Korea in recent years have been at sea. North and South Korea, for example, have a disputed sea border in the Yellow Sea.
Source: Flight International
