By JUNG SUNG-KI
SEOUL — South Korea decided to buy 40 F-35 conventional take-off joint strike fighters in a bid to better respond to North Korea’s increasing nuclear and missile threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced Friday.
The competition was initially for 60 jets. Government officials say it’s possible the remaining order of 20 jets will not be F-35s.
The JCS held a top decision-making committee presided over by JCS Chairman Adm. Choi Yoon-hee to modify the operational requirements for the F-X III fighter jet acquisition plan.
The jet contest was nullified in September when the country’s arms procurement agency voted down a bid by Boeing to supply 60 F-15 Silent Eagle aircraft, citing the “4.5-generation” jet’s lack of radar-evading stealth capability.
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