SEOUL, Oct. 27 (UPI) — Technologies for Seoul’s fighter jet program are to be developed domestically after the United States turned down Seoul’s request for a transfer. But a former South Korean official said Seoul had always known the technologies were non-transferable.
The National Assembly’s Defense Committee on Budget and Accounts said Tuesday consensus is building on the need for domestic development of the missing technologies: an active electronically scanned array, an infra-red search and track system, a radio frequency jammer and an electro-optical target tracking device.
The budget for development is being drafted with input from other government agencies, but Yonhap reported the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s projected budget of $142.5 million was cut down to $59 million after consultations with the National Assembly. Ruling party lawmaker Kim Sung-chan said the budget has not been finalized, and “uncertainties remain.”
DAPA chief Chang Myoung-jin said South Korean President Park Geun-hye had provided him with instructions to develop the fighter jets after seeing Chang’s briefing on the $15.9 billion project with a completion date of 2025.
The South Korean president had said that it is “wrong to confuse the people and cause security anxiety,” and asked DAPA to be “precise and perfect” in handling future projects.
Park recently had replaced her top secretary for foreign affairs, Ju Chul-ki, after her administration was criticized for reportedly hiding the fact the United States had earlier refused to transfer fighter jet technology, The New York Times reported.
Lee Yong-dae, a former official responsible for selecting the next-generation fighter jet as a resources management strategist at the Defense Ministry in 2013, told South Korean television network JTBC Seoul knew well beforehand the technology transfer from Lockheed Martin may not be feasible.
Lee said the Defense Ministry then carried out South Korea’s FX fighter program, a phased procurement program for fighter aircraft, in conjunction with indigenous fighter jet development. That led to oversight on the technology transfer, Lee said.
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