Jerusalem Post,
Facing heavy US pressure to choose an American system rather than a cheaper sophisticated Israeli one, South Korea decided over the weekend to delay its decision till May for early warning aircraft.
South Korean defense officials said the delay was due to a failure by the bidders to submit data of key technologies. The decision for the lucrative arms deal worth well over $1 billion was originally to have been made by December 31 for four airborne early warning and control systems (AWACS).
The fierce competition is between Israel Aircraft Industries and Chicago-based Boeing. IAI's Elta is offering its Phalcon radar mounted on a General Dynamic's Gulfstream G550 aircraft against Boeing's 737-700 equipped with Northrop Grumman's L-band radar.
“We've decided to put off the selection as both bidders failed to submit details of key communication equipment of their systems,” Col. Cha Jong-hwan at the South Korean defense ministry's weapons acquisition office told reporters in Seoul.
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