By Zachary Keck
South Korea has officially selected the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to replace its aging F-4 and F-5 fleet.
South Korea’s defense procurement agency has officially said that it will purchase 40 F-35 joint strike fighters, Reuters reported on Monday.
According to the report, which cited two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) told lawmakers on Monday that South Korea is looking to pay 7.34 trillion won ($6.79 billion) for 40 F-35s, which are made by Lockheed Martin. A DAPA spokesperson confirmed that South Korea’s Finance Ministry has approved the budget, and said that it hopes to finalize the deal in the third quarter of this year, with deliveries of the jet beginning in 2018.
In a statement on Monday, a Lockheed official said: “We are honored by and appreciate the trust and confidence the Republic of Korea has placed in the 5th generation F-35 to meet its demanding security requirements. This decision strengthens and extends our long-standing security partnership while enhancing regional stability across the greater Asia Pacific theater.”
The report is broadly consistent with what Lt. Gen. Hyungchul Kim, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF), told a forum in Arlington, Virginia on Friday. “The acquisition plan will be finalized next month, and the contract will hopefully be signed before August of this year,” Kim said, according to InsideDefense.
Read the full story at The Diplomat