South Korea Against Lockheed Martin

Korean agency responsible for arms purchases - DAPA asked Lockheed Martin to apologize for saying that I've decided to choose the F-35 fighters in the tender for a new generation of multi-tasking.


Information about the supposedly already made ​​by South Korea. choosing an American fighter stealth F-35 has appeared in several magazines. The authors referred to the statement of Vice President of Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Steve O'Brien from the beginning of February. According to Dusty Rickett of  the Daily News , he had to say that the president of South Korea. Li Miung-bak assured U.S. President Barack Obama at a meeting in Washington October 13, 2011, that the choice of F-35 is assured. Seoul would buy 60 new generation of U.S. fighter jets for 8.29 trillion won. Meanwhile, the tender has just started .

According to the Korea Times , Korean agency used for purchases of arms - DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration), who fights hard against corruption, is looking for recordings of speech from O'Brian based on 1 February in Eglin. February 15 DAPA issued a formal statement on the matter for Lockheed Martin. DAPA posted Heads, among others, that the agency conducts transparent tender for the purchase of a new-generation multirole fighter jet, which Lockheed Martin participates outside of Boeing (F-15SE) and EADS (Typhoon). If Lockheed Martin did not prove that he was trying to win the tender by political pressure, his chances will be substantially reduced. Until now, Americans have not responded.


Dusty Rickett argues that O'Brien had a recording of the briefing, but then destroyed them. Lockheed Martin representatives in South Korea. reported that a meeting with journalists was recorded, but later identified this statement as a mistake. Another journalist participating in the briefing, Del Lessard also wrote that O'Brien assured of a positive for the F-35 choice of Koreans: other countries, including Japan, Israel, South Korea and Singapore have already decided or will decide to purchase the F-35 program FMS.

F-35 may also have other problems in the Korean tender FX-III. The version offered do not meet for two of the key requirements the portability of weapons of podwieszeniach external and a maximum speed greater than MA1, 6 (1900 km / h). DAPA plans offered tests involving fighter pilots of the Korean for the period from June to September, and final selection in October 2012.