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| One of several designs for South Korea's KFX Program |
By AARON MEHTA
WASHINGTON — The Republic of Korea Air Force expects to make a selection and sign a contract on its new tanker before the end of the year, according to one of the service’s top generals.
The service will also announce its next-generation fighter selection next month, Lt. Gen. Hyungchul Kim, the Republic of Korea air force’s vice chief of staff, told a Washington audience during a Friday event hosted by the Air Force Association.
The F-X program will replace South Korea’s aging F-4 and F-5 fighter fleet. Although Kim treated the program as an open competition, it is widely believed that Seoul has settled on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Once that selection is made, Kim said he expects a contract before the end of the year. The selection will also help kick off the KF-X program, South Korea’s development program of an indigenous fighter design. The two programs are directly linked, with Kim saying how much technical support and tech transfer the winner of the F-X program gives to Korea the “most important factor” in its selection.
The KF-X program will “be launching in the second half of this year,” Kim said.
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