October 30, 2014

South Korea may take legal action against BAE Systems for KF-16 upgrade as locally made FA-50 aircraft get deployed

South Korea government may take legal action against BAE Systems for its failure to implement a KF-16 upgrade at an already agreed upon price.BAE has demanded an additional 203.1 billion won ($193 million), but DAPA(Defense Acquisition Program Administration) refused to pay.

BAE Systems was chosen over Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-16 jets, in August 2012 as the primary contractor for the upgrade of 130 KF-16C and D Block aircraft because it offered a lower price than nearest competitor Lockheed Martin.If BAE fails to deliver on the contract, it would force DAPA to turn to Lockheed Martin at an additional cost.The delay in the program and extra costs should be shouldered by the party that reneges on the deal, according to DAPA.







South Korean President Park Geun-hye called on the military Thursday to remain in full readiness as she hailed the operational deployment of South Korea's FA-50 aircraft at an air force base in Wonju, some 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Last month, South Korea's Air Force deployed a squadron of 20 FA-50 aircraft and there are further plans to deploy 40 more FA-50 fighter jets in coming years.The FA-50 is a light attack variant of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer that was co-developed by KAI and U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin. It is the most advanced variant of the T-50 family operated by the South Korean Air Force.

After the speech, Park watched as two FA-50 jets executed an aerial maneuver.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...