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| F-35 Lightning II (File Photo) |
By AARON MEHTA
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has laid out the parameters for possible sales to South Korea of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which handles foreign military sales for the Defense Department, notified Congress of the potential sales on March 29, according to documents released this morning. The two fighters, along with Eurofighter’s Typhoon model, are the finalists for South Korea’s F-XIII competition. The country is expected to make a final decision later this year on which plane will replace its aging F-4 jets.
“The proposed sale will augment Korea’s operational aircraft inventory and enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense capability, provide it with a credible defense capability to deter aggression in the region, and ensure interoperability with U.S. forces,” DSCA said in an April 2 statement.
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| F-15K Slam Eagle (File Photo) |
The notifications are not necessarily a sign that the South Korean military will shortly reach a decision. Instead, it lays out what a potential sale might look like, so if the South Korean armed forces decide to pick one of the American fighters they can quickly sign a contract.
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