Another new fighter jet for Korea Vol.II

Falstaff

New Member
Oh, lord, I hope this one will survive longer ;)

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.

-ends-
Seems the Rafale is not a starter, neither is the SU-35. Seems to me the french are still angry...
 
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JoeLiTo

New Member
By the description in the article you posted, the F-15 seems to have more diverse roles with greater range. Sure, the Typhoon is more agile and can supercruise, but the shorter range and limited strike capacity could become a deal breaker.

Of course, since Korea already has f-16s and is developing the A-50, one could argue that the f-15's added roles are uneeded.

And i am by no means an aviation or military expert.
 

Falstaff

New Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
Well, I think it's better not to make this a "this one's better than that"-thread, the capabilities of virtually all current fighter jets are discussed in a lot of endless threads here.
The old thread was closed because it startet flaming for whatever reason, there was some interesting speculation however.
Most people believe that the Koreans will buy F-15K again anyway and that a tender is just their way of procuring things and perhaps getting additional benefits.
The reason why I find this read interesting is that Eurofighter joins the competition while the other contenders obviously don't. It seems they believe they have a chance.
 

JoeLiTo

New Member
Falstaff, I understand what you say, but i'm curious to know which of the fighters is more adequate for Korea at this time.

And I wasn't around when the previous thread was closed.
 

Bitterz

New Member
The fact is currency of EUR is too strong compared to USD for KRW, that F-15 is far more cheaper now for Koreans.
 

Rich

Member
The fact is currency of EUR is too strong compared to USD for KRW, that F-15 is far more cheaper now for Koreans.
That's a good point. In fact the weak dollar is wreaking havoc across Euro-airplane sales because, A, you get more Yank for less, and B, Euro-sales are based on the US dollar.

The North Koreans are no doubt vastly impressed with the range and speed of this aircraft. Not just that but its weapons payload capacity is pretty impressive as well, 23,000 lbs compared to EFs 14,330. The EF has a lower RCS and is more nimble in the AA mode no doubt. But as a dedicated tactical bomber?? Truth is the SKs have a far greater need in reducing tactical targets then it has in air dominance. Their F-16s are more then a match for anything the NKs throw at them, and, they have the luxury of being able to figure in USAF participation. Which spells F 2 & 2, along with the electric/communication dominance USAF always brings along with it.

Range, payload, performance, radars, targeting, all weather, the F-15K is just about as close to perfection as their particular needs requires.
 
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