Korea set to go ahead with purchase of Boeing F-15 SE

U.S. aerospace giant Boeing is moving closer to win South Korea’s 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion) contract as the state procurement agency is set to recommend F-15 Silent Eagle as the sole candidate that comes within the budget in an upcoming meeting of top military officials.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration has completed biddings and evaluations on three jets ― Boeing’s F-15 SE, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and the EADS’ Eurofighter ― and briefed President Park Geun-hye on the results earlier this month.

The DAPA said Monday it will hold a subcommittee meeting later in the day to review the evaluation process and make a final decision on Tuesday in a meeting presided by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, without elaborating which jet scored the highest.

“The meeting will yield a final decision on the fighter jet project,” DAPA spokesman Baek Yoon-hyung said in a briefing. “There will be no expansion in the program budget at this point.”

The DAPA meeting is authorized to deliberate only on whether to accept or reject the recommended candidate, without any say on choosing another candidate or expanding the budget.

If confirmed, Boeing will provide 60 F-15 SEs between 2017 and 2021 to operate alongside 60 F-15Ks, which have been adopted since 2002, effectively replacing the South Korean Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

The final selection comes amid lingering controversy over the combat capabilities of the stealth version of the F-15 modified for the South Korean Air Force since the procurement project was initially aimed at acquiring “the next-generation aircraft” to replace old combat jets.

In late August, 15 retired Air Force generals sent letters to the National Assembly, presidential office and Defense Ministry to suggest a reconsideration of the current evaluation process that put top priority on price over capabilities, effectively weeding out the other two bidders with higher price tags. (Yonhap News)