Lockheed Martin’s F-35 faces the distinct possibility of being the primary to be eliminated within the ongoing bidding for Korea’s next generation fighter program. The weakest point against the newest U.S. aircraft is that its price may fit up significantly as it remains to be in development.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the arm of the Ministry of National Defense, has told the 3 candidates to fulfill the necessary price of 8.3 trillion won ($7.45 billion) or face an early exit. The bidding is scheduled to renew on Aug. 12 through 16.
Currently, F-35 is vying against Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle and the ecu Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS)’s Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon.
“When any of 3 bidders meets the procurement price, DAPA will evaluate all three fighter jets,” DAPA Spokesman Baek Youn-hyeong said at a briefing.
“But despite finishing first inside the evaluation, an organization whose bid exceeds the budget is probably not signed for the F-X contract.”
He added that a runner-up or a 3rd place has a big gamble to secure a deal if either of involves in the given budget.
The U.S. government is unable to assure a set price for the reason that stealth jet is being tested, so there’s speculation that the Lockheed side might sharply push its cost down within the new round of the bidding to win the deal.
But DAPA said that it’s highly unlikely. “If a participant places an inappropriate price to take a freelance, it is going to become an issue afterward, in response to the laws of international contracts,” Baek said.
At this point, what the F-35 can do seems to only wish the bidding to be called off and DAPA to extend the budget, because the agency said if there isn’t any entry with price inside the project budget after the resumption of the bidding, it’s going to review other options including increasing the budget.
The DAPA announcement could be a serious blow to the F-35, which has basked in spotlight as a shoo-in within the competition at the back of its low-observable technology, or a stealth capability, despite its highly-projected price ticket.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in April that a possible foreign military sale (FMS) of 60 F-35 stealth jets and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support, would cost an estimated 12.4 trillion won.
In addition, the U.S. Department of the Air Force, participating within the bidding on behalf of Lockheed Martin under the FMS program, reportedly placed bids starting from 10 trillion won to twelve trillion won, while Boeing, which sold a complete of 60 F-15K Slam Eagles in the course of the first two phases of the F-X requirement, was closest to the DAPA budget with its bid being just 3 percent higher.
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