S. Korea's F-X competition suspended because fighter jets are expensive.

South Korean F-4 Phantom II, due for replacement.

Previously, I mentioned South Korea's "F-X" fighter competition as "one to watch"since it pitted the F-35 against the Eurofighter and Silent Eagle...  Well, you might as well watch paint dry, because nothing is happening.

Seoul has suspended the program because none of the bids have come under the $7.2 billion (US) budget.  Well, duh.

Canada has allotted $9 billion for 65 aircraft, not counting long term costs.  South Korea wants 60, so the budgets are way off for a similar amount of aircraft.  Did Seoul believe that the manufacturers would keep undercutting each other until jets were being sold at a loss?  That doesn't happen.

So what happens next?  Will South Korea up the budget?  Will it reduce the amount of aircraft needed?  Or will it simply wait until one of the manufacturers comes in with an acceptable offer?  Eurofighter has recently made claims about lowering the Typhoon's cost, but real life suggests otherwise.  Lockheed Martin has also claimed that costs are coming down for the JSF, but some say this is due strictly to number juggling.  All three manufacturers have offered up attractive industrial offsets, as well as assistance developing South Korea's KF-X fighter.

One thing is for sure, fighter jets are expensive.

Comments

  1. Doug AllenJuly 10, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    If cost is the issue maybe South Korea needs to consider the Gripen NG :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Doug AllenJuly 11, 2013 at 8:34 AM

    No arguments here...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doug AllenJuly 14, 2013 at 1:29 PM

    Hi!

    South Korean decision is kind of funny. But, IMHO, Seoul is mainly responsible for that: with the choice of American hardware nearly all the time, they pretty much 'killed' the competition. Only Eurofighter is the last brave candidate to challenge U.S supremacy in this country.

    In addition, Boeing could not take much risk with a Silent Eagle not fully developed.

    Or maybe Typhoon was the least expensive, which was disappointing…

    Nonetheless, South Korea already has a VERY potent air force, largely superior to the main enemy, North Korea. So, I’m not worrying for them.

    ReplyDelete

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