Oh, lord, I hope this one will survive longer
Seems the Rafale is not a starter, neither is the SU-35. Seems to me the french are still angry...Boeing, Eurofighter Face Off Over Jet Deal
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200703/kt2007031218044053460.htm
U.S. aircraft giant Boeing and Eurofighter Fighter aircraft GmbH, a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, are set to compete for South Korea's second-phase combat aircraft procurement program after their first bout five years ago.
In 2002, Boeing's F-15K won the $5.5-billion fighter procurement contract, codenamed “F-X,'' to supply 40 aircraft to the Korean Air Force over the Typhoon from the European consortium led by European Aeronautic Defense and Space (EADS), the Sukhoi-35 of Russia and the Rafale of France.
Last Friday, officials from the Boeing and the Eurofighter manufacturer attended a presentation meeting, organized by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), on an outline of the second F-X project and operational requirements for candidate aircraft.
The two bidders plan to submit their proposals to the agency by April 18 and the successful candidate will be chosen after test flights in February next year.
The latest F-X project is aimed at introducing 20 more high-tech fighter jets between 2010 and 2012, following the delivery of 40 F-15Ks by the end of next year. The project is worth about $2.4 billion and one of its basic requirements is twin-engine aircraft.
Military sources said that Boeing has the upper hand in the deal because the Air Force would consider reduced costs for production and operation of F-15Ks following the 2002 contract.
Eurofighter officials, however, argued that things have changed.
“In 2002, the Eurofighter Typhoon was under development so that we failed to win the confidence of South Korean officials,'' Kang Hee-gan at the Eurofighter's Seoul office told The Korea Times. “Now, production is underway and the aircraft has entered service with European nations proving its superb capabilities.''
Kang said about 100 Typhoons have been produced and are operational with the four manufacturing nations _ the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germany. Austria has purchased 18 Typhoons and Saudi Arabia signed a contract last year for 72 aircraft.
The F-15K is capable of air-to-ground, air-to-air and air-to-sea missions day or night, under any weather conditions. It can carry 23,000 pounds of payload and fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.3 and has a combat radius of 1,800 kilometers. A single aircraft costs some $100 million.
The Eurofighter is a delta-winged, beyond-visual-range, close-air fighter aircraft with surface attack capability. The fighter worth about 200 million won is able to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.0 and has a combat radius of 1,389 kilometers.
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