Korea Overseas Information Service, U.S. aircraft maker Boeing has been selected the sole candidate for the country's $2-billion surveillance aircraft deal, beating Elta of Israel in the one-year-long competition.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)'s supreme decision-making committee, chaired by Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung, at the ministry in Seoul on Thursday (Aug. 3).
Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, was dropped off as it failed to guarantee obtaining required export licenses from the U.S. government regarding key items to be installed on its product for the sealing of the contract, a DAPA spokesman said.
The final selection will be announced as early as next month after price negotiations, he said.
The purchase of spy airplanes is a key part in the government's defense reform program focusing on the buildup of high-tech weapons systems toward achieving a “self-reliant” defense posture.
Under the early warning aircraft project, codenamed “E-X,” the Air Force plans to deploy four surveillance aircraft in stages by 2012. Korea has no air surveillance system of its own and relies on U.S. reconnaissance aircraft based in Okinawa, Japan.
The B-737 AEW&C, equipped with Northrop Grumman's L-band Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar on the rear fuselage, is able to detect targets 481 kilometers away.
It has six common console stations for the mission crew and boasts of its commonality with commercial airline fleets for flexibility and support. The airplane can fly at a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet and at a maximum speed of 340 knots.
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