The Ministry of National Defense launched a job force Wednesday to take charge of the F-X III project to buy 60 fighter jets amid growing concerns over a scarcity of aircraft inside the coming years.
The move came in the future after Korea decided to reject Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle (SE) as a result of its loss of full stealth capability.
The third phase of the F-X program is aimed toward replacing the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
The team, divided into four subcommittees, is led by Lee Yong-dae, deputy minister on the office of force and resources management on the ministry, and can be fully staffed with members from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force, procurement office and aerospace researchers by the top of this week, consistent with Lee.
Participants at a preliminary meeting said officials discussed various alternatives, including altering the variety of aircraft to be purchased, increasing the budget and buying the planes in phases.
With the rejection of Boeing, Korea’s plan to herald new combat planes from 2017 is anticipated to be delayed for as much as two years, and the Air Force is probably going to suffer an absence of roughly 100 aircraft by 2019.
Defense watchers say that the duty force must clarify the goal of the F-X III project in order not suffer another setback.
“If the goal is obviously set, the time frame for a brand new tender may well be shortened,” said Yang Uk, a senior researcher fellow on the Korea Defense and Security Forum.
Shin Bo-hyun, a professor on the defense acquisition department at Konkuk University, also said: “By putting all related organizations under the duty force’s wing, unnecessary administrative procedures may be reduced.”
Yang also said that the formation of the team means the ministry is in a rush to handle the urgent need for aircraft. An F-5 fighter jet crashed right into a mountain in North Chungcheong Province, Thursday.
“It has significance that a high-ranking official of the defense ministry is on the helm of the duty force, because of this the ministry is decided to provide full support,” he said.
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