By JUNG SUNG-KI
SEOUL — Since South Korea launched a multibillion-dollar fighter acquisition plan in 2011, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 has always been regarded the leading candidate due to the “fifth-generation” jet’s stealth functions.
Just a few steps before the finish line, however, the front-runner is on the razor’s edge because the South Korean customer isn’t satisfied with the price guaranteed by the US government.
The other F-X bidders are Boeing with the F-15 Silent Eagle and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s (DAPA) announcement of the latest price bids for the 60-aircraft F-X III competition, at least one bid came in under the budgeted figure of $7.4 billion.
“A bidder submitting a price over the budget won’t be selected as a winner. We can’t make a contract over the budget. That’s the bottom line,” DAPA spokesman Baek Yoon-hyung said.
The spokesman would not specify which bidders were in or out. But multiple sources privy to the bidding confirmed only the F-35 price was over the budget.
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